


Many Names, Many Lives, One Person

by Quinis



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Chuck (TV), White Collar
Genre: Dick is Neal and Bryce, Gen, Response to prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-26
Updated: 2018-01-15
Packaged: 2018-12-20 03:04:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 28,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11911881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quinis/pseuds/Quinis
Summary: Dick Grayson jumps between lives and identities until one day, they collide.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt from: duckslipper  
>  _"Hi! So, I saw your call for promts, and idk but I've got this idea in my head, but I can't write at all so.. Its like a cross between Batman, Chuck and White Collar.. Dick joined the police department. Was recruited to the CIA (Bryce) changed his name because obvious ties to Bruce Wayne is not good for a cia agent. Undercover as Neal to get Adler, and then again as a means to get crooked feds. It all gets revealed at some point ofc. I don't know if it's your cup of tea or anything, but yeah =)"_
> 
> Notes: This is totally my cup of tea and so, it's going to multi-chaptered.

 

* * *

**Chapter 1**

* * *

Because of world-saving complications, Dick had to use a little pull to get himself into the police force. His physical results were not outstanding but they were more than good enough. His written work was excellent. None of this should have attracted the attention of people in very high places.

Yet, one dark Bludhaven evening as Dick left the station, Director Langston Graham of the CIA stepped out of a taxi.

"Nice timing," Dick quipped.

Graham smiled and motioned for Dick to get into the car. Dick shook his head and started walking.

"You wanna talk? Walk with me," he said.

The nicely dressed director huffed what Dick could recognise as a laugh and quickly fell into step beside him.

"I'll make this simple. We want you."

Dick snorted at that. It reminded him of those stupid posters. "Seriously? What does the CIA want with a police officer fresh to the scene?"

Graham raised one neat eyebrow. "You know who I am. I know who you are."

Dick laughed. "And who would that be?"

Graham stopped and Dick turned back to look at him. Graham looked up and made his next sentence sound like a change of subject. However, Dick knew it was an answer to his question.

"Nightwing. He protects this city, doesn't he?"

"He tries," Dick responded with an easy smile but worry curdling in his gut. Bruce was going to kill him.

Graham returned the smile which was awkward on his face. He didn't seem the type to smile a lot.

"I am the only one who knows. Rest assured, it'll stay that way."

Dick didn't really believe that but he was willing to try.

"You might not like what happens should you spill," he warned. "As for your offer, no. I'm happy where I am."

* * *

His police partner found out about his work as Nightwing. She was nice about it but asked him to turn in his badge and find work which didn't wasn't a conflict of interest for either of them.

Dick was sitting on the stairs into his apartment building with his head in his hands. A car pulled up. Someone got out. Nice shoes touched down on the ground and tapped their way towards him.

"Our offer still stands." It was Graham. "We need someone at Stanford. Someone fully trained. There's a mole. Two of our recruits have gone missing since the last time we spoke."

Dick looked up. "You know I dropped out of college, right?"

Graham stopped short of rolling his eyes as he was much too dignified for childish reactions. Dick grinned as he enjoyed frustrating the man.

"We're not putting you in business. You'll be in computer engineering." Dick snorted. "Yes, the classes might be too easy for you but this mission won't be. Besides," Graham smiled. "Relax a little." He pulled out a file from behind his back and held it out.

Dick opened it. It was his picture with the name 'Bryce Larkin'.

"What's with the dossier?" he asked.

"Your new identity within our organisation. Like I said, no one but us two will know. This will also keep your family safe."

"I'll be telling them," Dick informed him.

"I know."

And with that, Dick Grayson became Bryce Larkin, Stanford freshman and secret agent.

* * *

Chuck came running across the oval with a large box in his hands. He was panting when he reached Bryce, who was laughing at his roommate.

"Bryce! Look what I found!" He held out the box. Inside was an old computer.

"Whoa. Where'd you find that?"

"One of the professors gave it to me!" Chuck crowed happily. "Do you want to pull it apart with me?"

Bryce grinned back. He hadn't thought college would be fun the second time around but it was, mostly because of Chuck. The guy was fun and it reminded him of back when he spent time with his Teen Titans doing fun stuff and hanging out.

Plus, the courses were certainly more interesting than business. Especially the more practical sessions.

* * *

Bryce cursed when he saw the letter addressed to Chuck. They were going to recruit him into the CIA. Despite never going through their training, Bryce knew what it was like. He also knew what missions were like. For example, he had requested that they halt recruitment while he tracked down the mole. Apparently, that was too difficult for them.

There was no way he was going to let them put Chuck in danger. Chuck was no operative.

With his professor as he accomplice, he framed Chuck for cheating and got him kicked out. He set up the mole, who he caught just a couple weeks later, as the one who supplied Chuck with the answer sheets.

Then, he packed up and left. The CIA set Bryce Larkin up as an accountant and Dick took on another mission.

And so, Dick who had become Bryce, now became Neal Caffrey.

* * *

The Adler case was a mess and attempts to keep the Caffrey mission going got tougher as the FBI closed in. Finally, Neal was arrested so that Dick could return to Gotham in the wake of Bruce's death. He ended up looking after Bruce's ten year old son and taking up the mantle of Batman.

* * *

His phone rang. Dick took one look at the number and sighed. From the other side of the table, Damian's head tilted in a way which suggested the kid was eavesdropping. Their relationship had been slowly improving and, while Damian didn't always listen to him, the kid at least trusted his decisions.

"Bryce, I have a mission for you."

Dick growled as a response.

"I know that you're busy being Bat-"

Dick interrupted, "you know that, so you should know that I don't have time for missions."

"You can clear this up in one weekend. There are lives at stake."

"Fine," Dick huffed after hearing the details. He hung up and frowned at his phone.

Damian frowned from the other end of the table, unconsciously mirroring him. Even Alfred had paused to listen.

"Grayson, who was that?"

Dick didn't want to answer, not with the whole truth. Bruce was aware of his other work but kept everyone away from Bryce in order to not send up any read flags.

"Work. I have a conference this weekend," Dick explained.

Alfred frowned. The Butler knew that there was no such conference on for Wayne Enterprises. But, Alfred was aware of Dick's other job.

* * *

There was no such thing as 'one last mission' it seemed. Dick said it every time Graham called and every time, Graham would call again in a couple of days or a week or a month later. This led to Dick having what he thought of as 'CIA weekends' where Bryce went out and saved the world.

Missions couldn't always fit into a weekend neatly. When that happened, Bryce would either stay a little longer or have his partner gather intel before the weekend as per his instructions so that Bryce could just come in and do the physical part. On rare occasions, his partner would have to stay and finish the mission with Bryce running it from the plane on his way back to Gotham. It was no surprise that Bryce went through partners quickly. At times, the CIA just had to send agents in to gather information without letting them know who the information would be given to or what it would be used for. They would pass the information to Bryce before his mission, eliminating the partner requirement.

Bryce became a legend. A ghost in the CIA. The one the CIA called in to complete missions believed to be impossible. No one knew exactly how Bryce did it, only that he did. Often in only a couple of days.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

* * *

When the CIA told him he would get a new partner, he didn't give it much thought. He gathered his stuff in a small backpack and made his way to the rendezvous point. He got on a train going from Rome to Milan and a blond woman sat down in the seat next to him.

"Nice to meet you," he said with a grin and an outstretched hand. He knew this was his new partner, Sarah Walker. She stared at him, a couple of moments passing before he sighed. "Always so cautious," he chided playfully, even though he respected her caution.

He gave her the coded question and she provided the correct response.

"Nice to meet you, Bryce Larkin," she said, finally shaking his hand.

* * *

The mission went well. Sarah managed to keep up almost as well as one of his brothers. Dick might even say she was near to Stephanie's level. What really earned her points was that she noticed the kid watching them from across the street.

"I'll handle it," Bryce said, holding a hand out over the gun she had reached for in her purse. There was no need for bullets to be flying. "He's a child," Bryce pointed out.

"If you think agencies won't use children, then you are naive and not worth your reputation," she responded coolly.

Bryce chuckled. She was a sharp one. He wondered if she would think him a traitor after this. Bryce stormed across the road and stopped right in front of the kid, arms crossed.

"Don't look at me like that, Grayson," Damian said, face puffing up in indignation. He mirrored Dick's stance with his arms crossed over his chest. "You're the one running off to play spy."

"I've been doing this job for years without any issue. Even while we were partners," Dick reminded him. "Does your father know you're here?"

Damian's arms crossed tighter, almost like he was tightly hugging himself. Dick immediately regretted his harsh words.

"Father doesn't care."

Dick sighed. This was not a time for family problems however, he knew he was the only one aside from Alfred who Damian could come to.

"He does." Dick knelt down to Damian's level. The kid's blue eyes stared at him, taking in every word. "He's just not good at showing it. Look, this mission should only take a couple of days. Go home and I'll come right back afterwards so we can spend a patrol together." After a moment he added, "I think Nightwing and Robin would make a better team than Batman and Robin. We'll get to have more fun."

"Really?" Damian questioned.

"Really."

Damian sighed but vanished into the shadows. Bryce returned to the table.

"Someone you know?" Sarah asked him, her tone suggesting that she already knew the answer.

"Street kid," Bryce responded. "He gives me information when he sees me." It was a good thing he had done some research beforehand so he had new information to tell her.

Sarah seemed to believe him after that but she was still suspicious. It took a bit of work to get her to open up and have fun on missions, which led to a couple 'more than work partners' interactions.

Dick didn't see any issues with them having a little relationship on the side. Barbara tried to tell him that it would lead to trouble down the track but he believed that one day he might be able to share the other parts of himself with her. Fate intervened before they could get that far.

* * *

Batman brought up some secret files from the CIA.

"It's a computer," Dick mused, looking over them. He blanched a little when he read 'Project Omaha'. The project he had managed to save Chuck from. "They got it to work?"

"In a way," Bruce responded. He told Dick that the CIA had shelved attempts to put the intersect into a human head and just used it as a computer, compiling and analysing information from both the CIA and NSA. "There's an issue though."

The screen flickered and Barbara appeared. "Told him yet?"

"I'm up to the part about Orion."

Barbara nodded and another window opened up. The screen was blank but there was a line running through it. It moved and bounced as the new voice introduced himself.

"Hello, Oracle. Are we talking to the Batman now?" The voice came through synthesised, similar to the way Barbara disguised her voice as Oracle.

"Just started. He's informing our operative about the Intersect and your role in it."

"I created it. However, the weaponising capabilities of the Intersect worried me so I erased everything and went on the run."

"Weaponising capabilities?" Dick questioned.

Orion seemed to think before responding. "There are a number of possible scenarios. What if it ends up in the wrong hands? I'm not blind to the number of double agents and moles in the CIA. I do believe I'm talking to one right now."

"Hey!" Dick countered, insulted. "They let me join knowing that my loyalty lies here."

"I hope it does," Orion responded. "Because I'm asking you to betray the CIA."

"I don't like this," Batman growled.

"Noted," Barbara responded. She looked to Dick. "Think you can destroy it?"

Dick nodded.

* * *

Explosions. Completed part of the mission. Shot. Pain. Send Intersect to Chuck. Chuck'd keep it safe. Captured by enemies. Captured by CIA. Escaped from CIA. Bryce's head was spinning as he paid for a motel room and slipped into it. The drugs the CIA had him on were starting to wear off. He was glad that Chuck was such a soft heart. Not only did it make it easy to use him as a hostage to escape but it also meant that interaction with the CIA hadn't had a negative effect on his old friend.

Bryce wondered if he should call Bruce. How long had it been since he had been shot while destroying the Intersect? What he really needed was sleep. Bryce curled up for a couple hours sleep.

* * *

When he woke, he picked up a phone he had stashed away at a drop point. He looked at the date logged on the phone.

He had been under for months! Why had it taken months for someone to find him?

Bryce figured he wasn't going to get answers just staring at the phone. He called was Wayne Manor.

"Master Dick!" Alfred cried in shock and relief. "Thank goodness. You've been missing for months."

"I noticed," Dick responded. "What did I miss?"

"Master Bruce can catch you up," Alfred said as the phone was passed.

"Dick. You made us worry," Bruce said.

"Sorry."

"Don't do it again. Now, what happened?"

After Dick caught Bruce up, Bruce told him about how Chuck had created his own team with the John Casey, the guy who had shot Bryce, and Sarah Walker, his old partner.

"The CIA might be glad to have you back," Bruce mused. "After all, they've have a tough few months."

"What do you mean?" Dick asked with a sneaking suspicion that he knew what. It would be just like his family to make things difficult for the CIA because he had gotten hurt. It was why Graham was always cautious about how he approached Dick and why Dick had more freedom than most CIA agents.

"Their agents are incompetent," Bruce reported, reminding Dick of Damian with his tone. "They're unable to find their cases or even complete them. There's rumours of another organisation interfering, solving their cases before they can."

"Uh-huh," Dick said. "And would this 'organisation' happen to wear bat logos?"

"Indeterminable." In other words, yes.

Dick was warmed by the fact but also worried.

"I should make sure Chuck's okay," he said. After all, he had held a needle to his old friend's neck in order to escape.

"If you think that's best," Bruce grumbled into the phone. "He seemed fine." There was an odd strain in his voice. Bruce probably knew what went down.

"What was your plan?"

"Send Red Hood in to mess things up and get you out."

Dick was glad that hadn't happened. "I'm going to check on Chuck. Pull out anyone in the area and don't send anyone else in."

They exchanged more words and information, Dick managed to figure out that Red Robin had been on route before he requested no assistance and then he hung up. It was time to meet up with Chuck. It was best his old friend knew what he had gotten into and the existence of FULCRUM in the CIA.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

* * *

Bruce was going to kill him. Pain shot up his body and a groan squeezed out of his lips as the bulky figure carrying him jostled his body.

"Shut it," Jason's voice rumbled. Dick had missed those harmonic tones. "You're heavy and bleeding so don't add wiggling to that list. If I drop you, Daddy Bat'll burst a blood vessel."

Dick groaned as pain shot through his gut. He had been wearing a thin bullet-proof vest but apparently it hadn't been enough. He had passed out in the Intersect room.

"Chuck?" he questioned weakly, remembering the brunette jumping in to try and save him from the traitorous agents who had made up his team.

"He's fine. Kicked butt, took names. Orion's right. That Intersect is a dangerous thing. It turned Mousy into someone the little brat would lose against."

"'Mousy'?" Dick questioned, although his eyes were growing heavy.

"Chuck. I think Mousy suits the guy better."

Dick hummed thoughtfully as he passed out for the second time that day.

* * *

Dick woke in the infirmary of the Batcave. His phone was sitting beside the bed, vibrating as the General tried to get through. He picked it up, his side stinging as he stretched.

"H'llo?" he mumbled into the phone, his voice aching.

"Bryce. I had a suspicion you were alive. Where are you?"

"Recovering," he responded. "I did get shot in the gut."

The General muttered something into the phone about how he probably wasn't going to be able to take any missions while recovering. Dick was about to respond when the phone was plucked out of his hand by Bruce. The Batman, with his cowl down, frowned into the phone like it was going to bite him.

"Bryce won't be attending to any more missions." He hung up on the General's demands to know who he was.

"Bruce," Dick grumbled. That was his call.

"I'm glad you called for backup when the situation didn't feel right," Bruce said, "however, I do not approve of the condition Jason had pulled you out in. If the CIA can't control the rogue elements, then they are not going to have you for missions."

Dick groaned and laid back on the pillows. As soon as he didn't ache all over, he was going to call Beckman back and see if there were any missions for him.

* * *

Dick had been moved from the cave to his bedroom in the manor. Along with a number of cameras and Alfred on watch, his family had been making random trips to his room to make sure he hadn't run off.

Jason grinned at him from his seat beside Dick's bed.

"Heard the old man pulled you out. No more spy for you."

Dick glared at him. He was finally allowed out of bed to walk around, as long as he didn't overexert himself and pull at his stitches. He was already irritated from being confined to a bed for days.

"That's no way to treat someone who saved your ungrateful behind. I still haven't received a 'thank you'."

Dick considered saying thanks but Jason was acting a little too high and mighty. He seemed to enjoy the fact that Dick had been betrayed by people he should have been able to trust at his back.

Honestly, he was feeling like an idiot. He should have prepared for the eventuality of betrayal. He just didn't want to admit it. Everyone already thought he was too soft and trusting.

"Fine," Jason huffed after a couple of moments. He picked up the book which had been sitting on the bedside table and kicked his feet up onto the edge of Dick's bed, right near his knees. "Two can play at this game." And he opened the book and began to read.

Dick was stuck. He groaned and dropped back onto the bed, trapped under the watchful eye of his younger brother.

* * *

Dick frowned and reread the mission information. He knew how Bruce had gotten his hands on it but that didn't explain why he had been looking for it.

Bruce's expression tightened.

"You knew."

"Yeah," Dick sighed. Beckman wanted to send him back undercover as Neal Caffrey. Neal was due to be released in four months and then Dick would be able to continue doing missions as Neal Caffrey. "It means I might have to go to prison for a while."

"That's not the issue," Bruce said with a frown at the folder of mission information.

"Okay," Dick said, staring at his mentor and waiting for an explanation.

It came a moment later. "You're not going on another mission when you're needed here."

Dick looked around the Batcave, pausing at the colourful costumes displayed nearby.

"No, I'm not. You and Damian have everything under control. Besides, even if you needed help, Jason or Tim would be your first call."

"They don't have your skill or grace," Bruce countered.

Dick smiled at the indirect compliment. "I guess I can take care of myself then. Bruce, let me just do this mission. It'll be in New York, not even a day away."

Bruce frowned. He didn't approve. However, it wasn't up to him. It never had been.

"I don't like it. At least talk to Orion and get him to help back you up out there."

"Orion? Are you really suggesting I talk to the guy who started the mission which got me shot, twice?" Dick questioned in disbelief.

"That's not how it went down but sure," Bruce responded. "He's in the best position to keep you up to date about the CIA and he owes you."

Curse Bruce and his ability to make really good points. Dick knew he wasn't going to win this part of the argument.

"Fine. I'll contact Orion before shipping myself off to prison."

"Do your time and get out," Bruce advised.

* * *

Neal didn't take the advice. There wasn't much to do in prison but plot and plan. Neal spent a lot of time reading. Orion kept in touch through their mutual friend. Not Kate. Neal still hadn't figured out Kate. She acted like they were dating and, stupidly, he didn't do anything to dissuade her of the notion. According to the guards, she came every week to be turned away. Which Neal thought was a problem. He agreed to meet with her, only for her to break up with him. Kate was obviously in trouble. The break up was probably something she had been pressured into doing. After all, Neal hadn't been able to break up with her, even when saying the words. She would just turn up at his apartment with wine and pizza and they would chill and be a 'couple' again the next day.

Neal decided that it was time to escape. The CIA just wanted to get him back on the streets and Kate was acting like she was in danger. Escape was a passable way of achieving both those goals.

* * *

When Neal arrived at her apartment, he discovered it empty. Kate was gone. Peter came in and took him back to prison.

"Another four years?" Beckman growled into the phone when Neal contacted her. It was a public phone however, the line was heavily encrypted so they could talk almost freely. "What were you thinking, Larkin?"

"I was thinking that Kate was in trouble. And I'm right."

"I don't care if you're right. The point is, you're back in prison with another four years on your sentence. Get yourself out of there."

Neal sighed but agreed to do so. Thankfully, he had just the plan. He just had to wait for Mozzie's visit.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

* * *

When Neal walked into the visitors' room, clad in orange jumpsuit, Mozzie was already seated at the table with a thin teenager beside him. Black hair and blue eyes gave the kid away and Neal instantly on edge.

"Mozzie, who's this?" Neal questioned, even though he knew. He shot Tim a frustrated look. The last thing he needed was family thrown into the mess that was this plan.

"This is Alvin Draper," Mozzie responded.

Neal gave 'Alvin' his most suspicious look. Alvin grinned.

"Heya. How's the pen?" Great. Tim was already making fun of him for messing up and landing himself back behind bars.

Neal rolled his eyes. "So, 'Alvin'? What happened to the nose ring? And the fuzz?" The nose ring and beard had been part of Tim's 'Alvin' cover in the past.

Alvin rubbed his bare chin. "Shaved. And me pops took the ring. Sez it's stupid."

"It is."

"You've no room to talk," Alvin responded, slouching and pointing at Neal. "I remembers when you had the mullet."

Mozzie grinned and shook his head. "Really, Neal?"

"It was the time for it. Unlike Alvin's - are you chewing gum?"

"'Course," Alvin responded, making his chewing louder now that Neal noticed. He smirked. "I guess you miss it, being here. No gum 'loud." It wasn't allowed in the prison full stop. Neal was furious that Tim was sneaking it past the guards, even as a visitor. The stuff was banned since it could be used to gum up locks. Mozzie gave Neal a 'see, he's good' look. Neal didn't consider getting chewing gum past the guards 'good'.

"I don't need to be broken out," he said.

Alvin's eyes widened in surprise before settling as he said, "so, you just gonna sit here for anotha four years?"

"No."

"You gonna break yourself out?"

"No."

Alvin's eyebrows went up. "Then what's the plan, Bossman?"

"Don't call me that," Neal said, wincing at the bright look in Mozzie's eyes. His friend was enjoying this and probably cataloguing every question he had about Neal and Alvin for later, when there wasn't a chance they could be overheard. "Moz, I need you to do some research for me and maybe contact Peter if his curiosity doesn't bring him back."

"Curiosity?"

Neal explained how he told Peter about the fibres from the Canadian bill, which had been stuck to the agent's suit when he arrested Neal and brought him back. Neal had given the agent a little bit of free information to help his current case.

"You're hoping to make a deal," Alvin realised. "Curious."

Mozzie didn't like the sound of that. "Neal, I already hired Alvin to help you. Let's just go now."

"No."

Alvin nodded his agreement. He crossed his arms over his chest. "This sounds interestin'. If da client don't wanna leave, then I'm good to go. Call me when you're out."

* * *

Peter did visit as Neal thought he would. He heard Neal out on a deal on working together with Neal on a tracking anklet. After waiting another couple of weeks, Peter accepted the deal and left Neal, now weighed down with tracker, in a rundown apartment building that wouldn't have looked out of place in Gotham.

"If you can find something better for $700 a month, got for it," Peter had said.

Neal mused on that. He could grab a map and see what properties he or any of the family owned in the area. Or he could dip into Bryce's funds and just buy a place to rent to himself. The plan he preferred but was too risky was the one where he would let Mozzie drain some of his funds, instead of Bryce's, to get the place but Neal had no doubt that Peter would see through something like that.

A strong voice broke through his thoughts.

"I've come to donate these."

Neal turned from the clothes on the rack and examined the older woman at the counter. She had the look of having lost someone. At least, those weren't her suits she had brought to the thrift shop.

"May I?" he questioned, offering to take a look. Alfred had made sure he knew what was what when it came to suits. He had a look at the maker and instantly knew that these were not cheap suits.

"This is a Devore." And that started a conversation which got him a place to stay. June, whose late husband had been the one to own the suits, had a studio apartment she was willing to rent to him. For $700 a month.

Neal couldn't wait to see Peter's face when he found out.

* * *

Peter's reaction was underwhelming. He gave Neal a speech about how he should earn the things that he had, or something like that. Neal found himself wondering if this was going to work. He was not the kind of person who enjoyed lectures like that. He was hands on.

At least the case was interesting; a forgery case. The apartment let the natural light in so he could read into the late afternoon and, forgetting Peter and his speech, Neal indulged in it. He spread himself out in the dying light of the day with a book and had just settled in when his laptop chimed.

"What now?" he moaned, climbing off the lounge chair and stumbling over to his computer. Someone wanted to chat with him.

Beckman's face filled the screen. Neal found himself sitting taller, expression going from warm and hazed with sleep to something hard and cold.

"General," he greeted.

"Agent Larkin," Beckman greeted back. "I see you got out of prison."

"Kind of," Bryce responded, referring to the tracking anklet decorating his ankle.

Beckman pursed her lips. "I'm sure you can work something out about that." Sometimes his reputation worked against him. Like now. Bryce didn't want to have to work something else.

"It would be nice if I had some government sanctioned way to remove it," he pointed out. Where Dick might have been light and teasing, Bryce presented it as cold fact. It was something which needed to be done if he hoped to do his job.

"That anklet should not hinder your mission. And your deal with the FBI serves our purposes just fine. What are your initial thoughts?"

Bryce reported that Peter was as honest as they came. Mozzie had checked. As for the rest of the agents, Bryce would work his way through the departments.

Beckman was pleased with his plan and ended the call. For a couple of moments, Neal stared at the blank screen of the computer.

Beckman was the only person in the CIA he was reporting to. She had made that clear with a request to not contact anyone else. There would be no backup if he messed up and got a target put on his head.

Neal figured what she didn't know, wouldn't hurt her.

* * *

Catching the forger known as the Dutchman sounded easy enough on paper. They found out who it was but the guy was slippery. Neal had a plan to get the guy, which had been made between catching up on Warrant Law with the book Peter gave him and investigating the FBI agents; he had started at the top of the ladder with Reese Hughes.

Neal just needed a car and a camera. Luckily, he had a brother living in town. Tim pulled up and got out of the ordinary car. He gave Neal a suspicious look as he came over and got out of his car with one of his cameras in his hands.

"I got your call. What did you need this for?"

"I need to look like a stupid college student and a suspicious investigator at the same time. The best way to do that is to take photos."

Tim rolled his eyes. "Or just act like yourself."

"A known conman doesn't exactly fill the stupid college student role, Tim."

"Hurt my baby and I'll hunt you down until the end of your days," Tim said as he passed Neal the camera and the keys to the car.

"Relax," Neal responded, "the car will be fine."

Tim fixed him with an icy blue stare. "I meant my camera. You can do whatever you want with the car, I have two more at Teen Titans HQ."

Neal grinned as that was the Tim he knew. Sometimes he worried that Tim would lay his own life before his camera. "Alright then, the camera will be fine."

"And you." Neal frowned as he puzzled what Tim could mean by that. After a few moments, Tim clarified, "you will be fine as well. No getting shot this time."

Neal grinned and twirled the keys on his finger. "I'll be fine too. Peter will get there to catch them all red handed."

He managed to get into the car and before Tim managed to process that.

"You better not be betting your life on an FBI agent!" he bellowed as Neal started the car.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

* * *

Bryce sat before his computer, staring down at the General. He rarely smiled for the General as he gave his reports.

"This is encouraging," the General said. "Now that you've secured your place in the team, your investigation should only take a couple of months."

Bryce closed his eyes for a moment, gathering strength. "No one mentioned this was a long mission. I thought this would just be until I healed."

"This is the mission you have. At this point, we can't just switch you out for anyone else. It'd be suspicious. Am I clear?"

"Clear as crystal," Bryce responded.

He was not looking forward to Bruce's reaction. Already he was thinking of ways to distract the Batman from jumping in and locating all the traitorous agents in the FBI.

The screen went dark, leaving him to his thoughts.

* * *

Red Robin perched on the ledge of the balcony. His cape fell around his shoulders, almost hiding him in its darkness.

"You owe me," he growled.

Dick rolled his eyes. Having grown up with Bruce, that growl meant nothing to him.

"If anything, you owe me. I'm still fielding questions from Mozzie about Alvin. There was no need to come here to New York."

"I live here," Red Robin reminded him.

"You and the rest of the troublesome teens," Dick said with a grin. He wasn't too serious about the 'troublesome' part but he had met Tim's friends and some of their parents. Red Robin grinned back, knowing he wasn't serious. "Have they been told about this?"

"All they know is that Nightwing is working undercover somewhere in New York and to not blow your cover if they find you."

Tim asked about the mission and Dick told him about Bryce's mission to locate agents in the FBI who were 'working other angles'.

"So, you have to find the spies among the feds?" Tim said. "I don't think that'd be difficult."

"Not difficult," Dick agreed, "but time consuming. Neal's supposed to stay on the White Collar floor so I can't really walk around wherever I want. I'm going to get Mozzie to help. He's got a way of getting information. It might speed the process up."

Tim nodded. "Searching the FBI like that might take time. Especially if you're waiting for someone to mess up."

"Agents are also getting transferred all the time. We just got a new one in, Lauren Cruz. She's... not pleasant."

"Okay." Tim didn't care about that. "I'll let Bruce know about the extra time. Don't be surprised if you get a visit from the Batman."

"I think you overestimate how much meddling in our lives Batman has time for," Dick pointed out. "I'm more likely to get a phone call about 'being careful' and remembering that the CIA can't be trusted."

They both thought about Orion, who had declined any assistance from Batman and gone back on the run. He did promise to return to see his children, Chuck and Ellie, one day.

The communicator clipped to Red Robin's belt started flashing. In the distance, there was the roar of an explosion.

"Got to go," Red Robin said.

"Good luck, little brother," Dick responded with a slight hint of sadness. He wanted to go with but he hadn't cracked the anklet yet.

* * *

Tracking down Kate took time, especially when Neal couldn't go wherever he wanted. He stared with only a photo from an ATM of Kate withdrawing money and the hand of an unknown man resting on her shoulder. He wore a ring on his pinkie and Neal couldn't help feeling that he should be able to figure it out.

Kate led him on a wild goose chase. A video from her visit to him in prison led Neal to the bottle he had found in their old apartment. Which had a map hidden on the label, revealed by heat. The map led to a place in New York, which held a message, which allowed Neal to get a glimpse of Kate before she vanished at the command of an unknown man.

There was something else going on here. The mystery kept Neal hooked and searching. But also, he couldn't leave Kate to the danger she was in.

With Kate, he was making progress. With Bryce's mission though, he was at a standstill.

Then the two missions crossed.

* * *

Neal saw the glances Jones was sending his way.

"Do you think I did it?" he asked. A missing diamond, a forgery left in its place and his tracking data erased for six hours around the time of the crime. It was not looking good for him, even with the suspect list he gave Peter.

"I think you're worried about OPR," Jones said. That was true. Bryce was supposed to be investigating the FBI for the CIA and Neal was investigating the FBI for Kate. The ring belonged to someone in the FBI, made from a ten years' service pin. Tim had researched that one for him, dressed up as 'Jackson' from a local high school and interviewing FBI agents about working for the FBI.

Dick owed him one for that.

"I'm a conman. I know when things look bad," Neal responded to Jones' question.

"And this looks bad," Jones agreed with a frown. "Did you do it?"

"Would you believe me if I said 'no'?" Neal said.

"I think Peter does and so I hope you didn't do it. For his sake."

Neal was always struck by just how loyal the people working with Peter were. He hoped never to betray that trust. He might be there spying on them but he was going to clear their names as they could hopefully clear his.

* * *

Mozzie came through with boxes of information on every agent in White Collar and a couple more. Neal grinned at the information, feeling like this was progress.

"Tell me what you've got."

As Neal had already known, Hughes was a legend. 25 years with the FBI, forced to retire and then brought back via a loophole. His resume, which included a stint with the NSA, made Neal slightly worried about his own position. If he made a mistake and got the older agent suspicious of him, Neal didn't think his cover would last long.

Agent Ruiz had a lot of skeletons but nothing espionage related and nothing connected to Kate.

"Checked Jones." Mozzie said. "Did you know his first name was Clinton?"

"Yes," Neal responded. It wasn't difficult to get a hold of someone's first name, even when everyone called them by their last.

"Checked Lauren."

"You checked Lauren?" She had recently joined Peter's team and came with a 'better than Neal' attitude. She treated him like dirt, although he suspected it was because she appreciated his looks and hated him and herself for being attracted to a conman. Although Bryce was going to look into her because the timing of your transfer was suspicious, Neal had no reason to suspect she was connected to Kate's disappearance.

"You said check everybody," Mozzie said.

There was no one else Neal would rather have by his side right then. Mozzie was proving invaluable.

"Then there's this guy from OPR, Fowler." Mozzie frowned at the file before handing it to Neal. They guy's wife died, he vanished for a year and then returned as part of OPR with his files sealed. "I hope it wasn't him." Neal raised an eyebrow which Mozzie correctly interpreted as a query into why. "OPR is like this giant sucking black hole. Accountable only to the Department of Justice."

"There are other ways to hold someone accountable," Neal mused.

"I'm not going to make questionable purchases in this guy's name, Neal."

"What?" Neal's eyebrows furrowed as he tried to figure out what Mozzie was getting at.

"You know, we steal his identity and make questionable purchases which no one wants attached to their name. Sure it bothers people but it won't stop this guy if he really has Kate."

"Isn't that a prank?" Neal questioned. It was the kind of thing he could see his brothers pulling on each other. It was all too easy to imagine Jason using Tim's card to treat himself to whatever he wanted.

"It's a little more serious than that. Ask the Suit if the illegalities of my suggestion went over your head."

"Nah. It's not like it's an option anyway."

"Good." After a pause, Mozzie said, "By the way, that necklace-"

"I didn't take it."

"But if you need a fence-"

"Moz," Neal practically growled. He was sick of people thinking that he took this stupid necklace. Why would he take it? It wasn't a challenge and only caused him problems!

They returned to looking over the files. Sadly, Fowler was looking like their best suspect on the Kate front. However, Mozzie did uncover a couple of agents with 'dodgy' activities on the side. Neal compiled that information for Beckman.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

* * *

Everything went wrong. Fowler came in and arrested Neal. Neal's initials had turned up on the diamond. Now he was back in prison with an inhibitor collar around his neck. It was meant to shock him if he tried to leave the prison grounds but, Neal believed someone in charge looked at it and saw that it was 'unable to removed my metas' and thought it would hold him even though all their tests showed he wasn't a superpowered human.

"Neal," Peter sighed when he saw the collar. Neal just frowned at him. He had tried to tell Peter that he was innocent. Beckman wasn't picking up his calls, probably washing her hands of him.

At least he could expect a visit from Tim or 'Alvin' in the next few days.

"What? Not as good as a fedora, I must admit," Neal commented. "But I shouldn't have to wear it at all."

"You let me down."

"You told Fowler to look for my initials."

"You told me about the process first."

"For the bonds, Peter!" Neal raised his voice. "Do you really think I was stupid enough to do that again?"

"What am I to think, Neal?"

"I was set up!"

"By who?"

Neal huffed and turned away. "I don't know," he said. "I'm working on it."

The guard popped his head in. "Agent Burke? His lawyer's here."

Mozzie walked into the room with briefcase in hand. He stared Peter down. The only time he wasn't intimidated by Suits was while he was in lawyer-mode.

* * *

There was a knock on the bars. Neal had been awake ever since the light footsteps had made their way down his cell but now he opened his eyes. Someone was sneaking in to visit him outside of visiting hours.

"Hey," he greeted the figure in the darkness.

"So you're out of the anklet but not running?"

Neal sighed. "No. I can't abandon my mission. And I don't want to burn this alias and Larkin."

Tim snickered. "Of course you got attached to your aliases. Do you have a plan?"

"I do."

"What can I do to help?"

Neal grinned. "Well, I bought a bakery-" Tim's eyes sparkled but he didn't laugh. "Don't worry about that. I'd like your help afterwards."

* * *

Tim ran a hand through his hair. He made his hands shake and he kept his eyes fixed on the ground.

"I-I rented the truck," he stammered, glancing around. "I just, just let me get the paperwork from the g-glovebox."

"Don't bother," Fowler grunted. He nodded at one of his agents to search the vehicle. "You still have to explain what you were doing when you helped a known felon escape."

"I didn't know!" Tim sobbed, a couple of tears running down his cheeks. He could practically see Fowler's opinion of him fall. Which was fine by him. He wanted them to underestimate him. To think him useless and stupid enough to be tricked. "I just followed the instructions for the money. It was a job!" All true. Neal hadn't told him any more than that in order to make his acting as truthful as possible. The internet posting existed, it was how Mozzie told him what to do. And the money had already been deposited in his alias' account.

"I found the paperwork," another agent said, passing it to Fowler. "And I checked with the company. He definitely rented it from them."

Fowler sneered. "Get his details and let him go."

Tim smiled a grateful smile, as if he hadn't noticed Fowler's disdain for him. "Uh, thank you, Agent. Do I get my truck back-?"

"No. We'll take care of it. Just leave your details and get."

Tim nodded and quickly scampered away.

* * *

Dick smiled as Tim walked into his studio apartment. This one was on the 27th floor and was nicely furnished in pastel colours.

"Fowler fall for it?"

Tim nodded and grinned back. "Easily."

"Nice. Thanks little brother." Dick rocked to his feet. "I should probably make my way to Peter's then."

Tim frowned and his shoulders fell. Dick was instantly worried.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Agent Burke didn't believe you, he let them arrest you. Why are you running back to him?" Tim asked with all the insecurity of a teenager. Dick smiled at the reminder that his little brother wasn't an adult yet.

"Agent Burke had to. He didn't arrest me and he didn't give them any reason to doubt his judgement. If he finds the evidence to clear me, then it'll be believed." But he would need Neal's help to get the evidence against Adrian Tulane. "Time to get a burner phone."

Tim didn't offer Dick any of the ones sitting in his briefcase, not that he knew Dick knew about them. He was okay with that. He knew Tim just wanted to help and was worried that the FBI would just place Dick back in prison again.

"Tell you what, if they do arrest me then you can help me break out of prison and burn my aliases."

Tim nodded his agreement and they started with the next phase of Dick's plan: convince Peter Burke that he was innocent.

* * *

The next phase wasn't difficult. Through Mozzie, Dick has acquired some files Fowler had tried to get rid of when he was arrested. They were phone records which could have only come from Peter's phone. Peter was not happy to learn that he was being spied on illegally by his agency's own agents.

With that realisation, Fowler shot to the top of Neal's and Bryce's suspect lists. Fowler might not appear to have anything to do with espionage but Bryce wouldn't put it past him. He had no trouble illegally bugging another agent's phone.

Together, Peter and Neal managed to arrest the real criminal. They found a hidden tunnel which led to the street and a camera which just happened to catch Tulane's face.

Neal was restored to his place as Peter Burke's CI.

* * *

The conference room was silent. The agents all sat in shock. The marshal at the front didn't care though, he started walking towards Neal.

In his hands was a collar. Another inhibitor collar. It was supposed to stop metas from using their powers and delivered an electric shock to anyone who dared to remove it.

Peter finally broke the silence. "You can't be serious. How is this any different to a GPS tracker?"

The Marshall paused, surprised that they were protecting the criminal. "It has advanced features to keep it from being removed."

"We have to remove it when Neal goes undercover," Peter pointed out. "Neal doesn't have powers so the collar not only advertises his criminal status to anyone looking but it also serves no extra purpose."

The worry in Neal's chest lifted a little at Peter's words. He could count on the agent to cover him like a safety net.

"I wouldn't be surprised if Neal turned out to have some charisma boosting powers," Jones commented with a grin at Neal. Neal knew he was teasing but the Marshall didn't.

"He needs the collar," the Marshall said.

"No." Peter stood up and stepped in front of the Marshall. Jones followed Peter's lead. "Our contract with Neal states that he is to have a GPS tracking anklet. Either bring evidence of powers which need to be suppressed with your collar or get out of this office and stop making our lives difficult."

"When Caffrey runs, you'll be looking for this," the Marshall said before leaving. Neal gave the agents a grateful smile. He was going to pass the information about this to Bruce. As Bruce Wayne was an avid defender of criminal rights, he would make sure the government wasn't secretly giving criminals in custody shock collars for no reason.

* * *

Telling Bruce was a mistake. Dick knew it probably saved lives but he had also underestimated his guardian's worry. That night, he was woken by what seemed like nothing at first.

Then he noticed the dark shadow sneaking in. Dick slipped out of bed and launched himself onto Batman's back.

"What... are you... doing... here?" he grunted as Batman tried to dislodge him. Batman twisted and tried to ram him into the kitchen island. However, Dick knew it was there and tucked his knees up.

He planted his feet on the kitchen island and pushed off, flipping over Batman.

"Well?" he demanded to know with his hands on his hips.

Batman looked him up and down and then wrapped him in a hug.

The light flicked on.

"Hey Neal, I know you have work-" Mozzie paused at the sight of his friend being almost covered by Batman's cape and armour. He brandished the wine bottle he bought at the dark knight. "Unhand my friend, you monster!"

"Uh, Moz? This isn't what it looks like," Dick said, shoving himself away from Batman.

"It looks like he's trying to kidnap you."

"I'm not," Batman said in a flat tone. He didn't seem impressed with Mozzie, even with Dick's reports painting the man as a talented information gatherer.

"Why are you here?" Dick repeated, hoping to finally get an answer.

"I wanted to make sure the FBI hadn't forced an inhibitorcollar on you," Batman said.

"A what? How dare they!" Mozzie growled. "Was it the Suit? It was the Suit, wasn't it?"

"It wasn't Peter," Dick quickly informed them. "It was the Marshalls. Peter and the FBI protected me."

"Good," Batman growled. "Let me know if they stop being a safety net."

"You didn't have to come," Dick pointed out. Deciding that Batman could have feelings and not wanting to hurt him, he added, "not that I'm saying it's not nice to see you. It is nice to see you."

Mozzie looked between the two, suspicious.

"You seem alright. I'll go now. Two-Face escaped from Arkham and was spotted on his way here."

Batman walked out to the balcony and let his grapple gun pull him away. Dick noticed that Mozzie was staring at the spot where Batman had last been.

Now he had to explain himself. He didn't want Mozzie leaving because Dick was friendly to Batman.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

* * *

"Look Moz-"

Mozzie was in his face in a moment. "You know the Batman? How do you know the Batman? Were you a vigilante, Neal? Nevermind, I'm sure I can figure that one out."

"Why would you think I'm a vigilante?" Neal questioned with interest. It was rare that people would see a criminal with Batman and immediately think they were on the same side. People still thought of Red Hood as Batman's enemy, despite the number of times the two had worked together. Although, that might be because Jason insisted on throwing insults around and sometimes let his temper get the better of him around his adoptive father.

Mozzie gave Neal the look. The one which said he knew Neal was underestimating him. "Batman is this intimidating creature, even around his allies." Mozzie had spent time analysing the way the Justice League members moved whenever they appeared on TV. Just in case he ran into them some day. "I didn't see any of that with you. You're close."

"Are you upset about that?" Neal said, neither confirming nor denying. It was as good as a confirmation but it didn't require him to say it.

"Not at all," Mozzie responded. "You haven't sent the capes after me and it makes some of the strange things which happen around you make sense."

"Strange things?"

"Like how you want me to look into all the FBI agents. And there have been other odd patterns. That crime spree in Europe where anyone around you seemed to end up in prison while you managed to escape."

Neal winced. That's because he had used Neal Caffrey over there to get close to some criminals. The CIA had helped him set up some crimes which broke the pattern but it wouldn't fool the truly dedicated. Like Mozzie. Who now thought he was doing vigilante stuff, not spy stuff.

"I thought you might be an undercover fed for a while. This makes more sense though."

"I guess," Neal responded. "You really thought I was a fed?" At this point, he wasn't sure which he would prefer; Mozzie thinking him a fed or Mozzie learning of his vigilante activities.

Mozzie shrugged, which wasn't an answer with the little guy. He put the wine on the table and started serving himself.

After a couple of moments, Neal decided to join him. "So, what brought you here in the first place?"

"The Suit's bug problem," Mozzie responded. Neal nodded and waited. Mozzie swirled the wine in his glass and downed it all in one gulp. It was unusual behaviour from someone who treated wine like a high-class treat. "I wish... to offer my services."

Mozzie was able to sweep for bugs and remove them. Neal knew that because Mozzie did this apartment every couple of days and his own safe houses randomly.

"Mrs. Suit deserves privacy," Mozzie justified. Neal decided not to call him out on caring for Peter.

"I'll let Peter know," he said.

* * *

Dick wondered if he should tell Mozzie the whole story. His family found it amusing how he was a vigilante, spy and now a famous criminal.

He pretended to not know about Tim's 'Neal Caffrey' scrapbook. Tim also had one for anything related to Bryce's missions. Dick pretended he didn't know about that one either, although he did wonder where Tim had found the time to uncover Bryce's missions. It was surprising that the CIA hadn't tried to recruit him into their ranks but Tim was probably able to keep them from knowing how much he knew.

"You should try the pumpkin soup," a voice suddenly said from behind him.

Dick hid his flinch by gripping the can tighter. "Pumpkin soup from a can is gross." He turned to the speaker and was not surprised to see Alvin standing behind him, a pair of sunglasses and a smug grin on his face.

Alvin shrugged. "Beggars can't be choosers, Neal. Unless you've gotten better at cooking since the last time I saw you."

"If you must know, prison has some good cooking programs. Even though they don't really let you near knives," Neal countered.

"Speaking of, I see you're out of prison. How's that working for you?"

"Fowler's foul and Mozzie knows about the B-man."

Alvin laughed harshly. "Oh man, da Boss messed up. Do ya know how much Jay'll give for footage of dat?"

Neal rolled his eyes and playfully shoved his brother. He didn't like punk accents; they always sounded so cliche. It was one of the reasons 'Robbie', the son of Matches Malone, wasn't seen often.

"He's not getting any," Neal responded, turning back to his shopping. He picked up another can, looking carefully at the label.

"You know, that was a cool escape," Alvin said, a little of Tim showing through.

"I only needed time to prove my innocence." After a pause, he said, "do you think I should tell Mozzie everything? He's already connected me to the B-man and he knows you and I know each other."

Alvin followed him around the aisle as he thought.

"Up to you," he finally answered. "Your gut never steers you wrong."

Neal wished he could agree with that. Right now, all he could think of were the bad calls he had made in the past, in every incarnation of himself. Dick, Bryce, Neal and others.

However, he had made some good calls too.

* * *

Something told him that maybe he could tell Mozzie that he was actually a spy. He called up Beckman to find out about the protocol surrounding telling a civilian about his identity.

"Are you insane, Agent Larkin?" Beckman asked. "You cannot just go and tell a civilian about the CIA! Even Chuck understands that!"

Bryce frowned at her. Had she forgotten how Chuck ended up in the CIA? "Really? Then why does Chuck's brother-in-law's name turn up on official reports as an active participant?"

Beckman was shocked by the question and quickly responded, "the enemy approached Devon Woodcomb first. Chuck was merely using their mistake against them to gather information." She didn't question where Bryce had gotten the information.

Once again, Bryce wondered if Graham had left any information for Beckman or if she was flying blind when it came to him. He decided to ask.

Beckman was surprised. "Director Graham didn't leave any information in relation to you beyond employee files and missions. Is this about when you went undercover to take Fulcrum down?" Bryce could see the gears turning in her head as she not only tried to figure out what he was referring to and why he was suddenly asking now.

"It's from my life before the CIA."

"Do you believe someone has uncovered your identity?" Beckman asked seriously. 

"No," Bryce scoffed in response. He was a professional. He knew that Beckman didn't approve of telling government secrets to anyone unauthorised. Bryce didn't agree. Mostly because he was feeding Bruce information but also because he had been the one to send the Intersect to Chuck. She disapproved on principle but Bryce knew Mozzie would bring great things to his team.

Better to beg forgiveness than ask permission.

"If this civilian is connected to anything-"

"I'll let you know," Bryce interrupted. He knew that wasn't what she had been trying to say. She was going to question his past and whether Mozzie was connected to it. "Here's the list of suspicious agents and the list of agents who are confirmed to be engaging in sabotaging or espionage activities." Bryce rattled off the list and the evidence.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

* * *

Neal grinned he placed another finished file onto the pile. He stretched and stood up, ready to call it a day.

"You're got to be kidding," Cruz grumbled from the next desk over. "How can you be done already?"

"It's Caffrey. He complains about paperwork but it still gets done," Jones said from the desk behind her. He didn't sound spiteful about it, only impressed.

"Hey, I'm not that bad," Neal said. He did complain a little but, he didn't like paperwork and yet everyone wanted it. Bruce, Beckman and even Peter! It was three lots of paperwork. He did a lot of paperwork so of course he got tired of it and wanted to complain every now and then.

"Make me a coffee then," Cruz said, holding up her mug.

Neal it back a retort about how he wasn't her servant. Instead, he grabbed the mug and walked over to the coffee station. He'd make Peter one too and make an excuse to talk to him. Paperwork had served to keep him busy, however, he had run out for now.

He was curious as to whether the agents he named had been arrested.

"Hey, did you hear? Agent Cardenas in Cyber Crimes was taken for questioning by OPR. They say he didn't come back," Judy whispered to another clerk. She was standing just on the other side of the room.

"Maybe he took the rest of the day off." Judy was talking to the soft spoken clerk, Hannah. "It must be stressful."

"Agent Burke had OPR hanging around and he didn't take time off," Judy said.

Hannah thought for a moment before saying, "yeah. But didn't that end in Neal's arrest."

"Technically," Neal said, causing the two clerks to jump. They hadn't realised he was there. Bat training came in very handy as sneaky was his natural state. "It ended with them admitting they arrested the wrong person and leaving."

The girls laughed nervously. "Yeah, you're right," Hannah agreed. They quickly made excuses and left. While Neal was disappointed he wouldn't be able to get any more information from them, he had learnt the fate of one person on his list.

The question was whether the OPR agents had really been OPR or if they were CIA or someone else.

* * *

The OPR team was made up of four people. They had requested an interview with Neal Caffrey, alone. Neal took a deep breath before walking into the conference room, hoping it wasn't Fowler's team.

It wasn't. It was Chuck's team. Neal blames the number of people for why he didn't put the pieces together quick enough. Last he knew, Chuck's team was three people strong. It seemed they had added Morgan since the last time he checked.

"You know, I'm not an FBI agent. OPR shouldn't have to talk to me."

Casey grunted, hand twitching like it wanted to go for his gun. Sarah's eyes widened, like she couldn't believe was she was seeing. Chuck smiled at him while Morgan glowered.

"Knew it was you," Chuck said.

Bryce was about to remind him that he could still be someone else when he remembered that Chuck possessed the intersect. Bryce had probably been identified the moment he stepped into the room.

He just silently thanked Orion and Graham that nothing concerning Dick Grayson or Nightwing had been put into the Intersect.

"Hi Chuck," Bryce greeted. He took off his hat and placed it on the table before walking around to sit facing the disgruntled agents.

"So you're the one sending Beckman the names of corrupted agents," Casey commented, his eyes narrowed. "Why am I not surprised that you're alive and investigating the FBI?"

"Because no one can kill me but you and because you consider the FBI to be incompetent?" Bryce suggested. Casey growled in a way which said Bryce was right but he wasn't going to admit it.

"Why didn't you contact us and tell us you were alive?" Sarah asked.

Because Bruce hadn't let him near his phone and Beckman didn't want him to. "There was no reason to."

Morgan snorted. "No wonder Chuck traded up. I make a much better friend and agent than you do."

Bryce blinked and crossed his arms. "Rude. Sure, you make a better friend and agent to Chuck but there's no reason to point it out. There's a reason I stepped back."

"Weren't you shot?" Chuck questioned. How could Bryce 'step back' when he was shot? Unless he had expected it?

"Yeah. I had someone on standby who got me out of there and patched me up. I'm not going to tell you who though."

"Whatever," Casey grunted. "Let's just get to why we're here so we can leave."

"Aw, is being in the FBI giving you hives, Casey?" Bryce teased. Casey growled at him. A 'be quiet or I'll hurt you' growl.

"We're here to arrest the agents you've flagged," Sarah explained. "Chuck is going to walk around the FBI and see if he flashes on anyone. And while we're here, we're supposed to help with the investigation."

Bryce frowned. So Beckman was sending in the cavalry to clean this up quickly. Why? Was it because of his performance? Was he too slow? Or was he needed for something else? There were too many options.

* * *

Neal plugged in his headphones and shook himself to loosen his muscles as the tune for Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata started beating in his ears. He took a couple of beats to listen to the tune and get into the groove of it before taking his first step. Then his second. A heavy note and he flipped onto his hands and then back onto his feet. A pivot with the music and then cartwheel over the table.

The door opened. Neal froze into a handstand on his table and turned without losing balance.

Chuck stood there, gaping at the grid of lasers making their lazy way around the room. One touched Neal's foot and there was a buzz as the simulation shut down with his failure.

"What was that?" Chuck questioned with excitement and surprise. His expression broke into a grin as he realised that the lasers hadn't been dangerous but rather a training exercise.

A training exercise Neal really needed to work on. A little distraction like being caught shouldn't be enough for him to lose focus. Real lasers would have set off an alarm or cut through his body.

Neal pulled an earbud out of his ear, holding himself up on one hand.

"What?" he questioned.

"The lasers!" Chuck waved his hands through the air. "What were they doing here and why?"

"Training," Bryce responded. He tilted his body and flipped down off the table and onto his feet. "Being able to get through lasers is an invaluable skill."

"I'd love to try," Chuck said wistfully.

Bryce agreed to let him try one day. He couldn't bring himself to say an outright 'no' to Chuck's earnest face.

"So, what brings you here?" Bryce asked.

"I wanted to talk. Make sure you're doing okay here," Chuck said. "It seems that the FBI really likes you."

"Some of them," Bryce responded with a shrug. "Peter's team's alright."

Chuck frowned a little. "I'd say more than alright. You fit in there well. Probably more than you did in college."

"What?"

"Seeing you with the FBI team, they treat you like an equal. In college, well, sometimes I got the feeling I was your only friend. I mean, you hung out with other people but..." Chuck trailed off. Bryce knew what he meant. While he hung out with other people, they weren't friends. They were just people to kill time with or people who shared similar interests. He hadn't contacted any of them since he had gotten Chuck kicked out.

It probably didn't help that Bryce was hiding his double life of being a spy and being Dick Grayson.

"Even if I do fit in, they think I'm a criminal, Chuck."

Chuck shrugged. "Well, that's an easy fix." Bryce blinked. Had Chuck just suggested telling the FBI about himself? Chuck, perhaps sensing his sceptical thoughts, added, "I know it seems bad. Like, 'the CIA will never let me' bad. But life really started looking up when I let Morgan in on the secret. The secret... it causes a wall between you and others. Letting a select few people in helps, it really does."

"You're really suggesting I tell Peter that I'm CIA?"

"I could tell him. Then the blame lies with me," Chuck said in a too-innocent tone. "I'll just let it slip accidentally or something."

Bryce started laughing. "You're more devious than people give you credit for!" However, he wasn't ready to bare that much of himself to the FBI. "Let me think about it, okay?"


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

* * *

Fowler's OPR team appeared a couple of days after Chuck's team. It surprised Neal as, if Fowler was up to something foul, they were exposing themselves by coming here. However, he was also unsurprised as it made sense that Fowler would come and check up on the 'new' OPR team.

Neal made sure Chuck knew that he didn't trust Fowler at all. While the Intersect didn't get any hits from Fowler, it didn't mean he was innocent.

Chuck's team arranged a meeting with Fowler's team. The White Collar agents were not allowed in.

"What do you think they're talking about?" Jones asked the other agents as they gathered around the coffee machine.

"Probably Fowler's previous investigation into our office," Peter grumbled. That had gone down badly and no one had forgotten it yet.

A couple of sympathetic glances were sent Neal's way. Neal's phone went off. The ringtone sounded like an old modem powering up. A couple of people in hearing rang winced at the electrical whine coming from Neal's pocket.

Neal moved away to a deserted area in order to answer. The ringtone belonged to Tim and he knew this wasn't a call he wanted overheard.

"I need a favour," Tim started with.

"Really? I'm still on assignment."

"Yeah, but you owe me. Or have you forgotten about borrowing my camera and car?"

Neal took a deep breath. Catching Hagen had been worth it and he did owe Tim for helping him out on short notice.

"Okay. Just remember that I'm limited to a two mile radius here."

He could practically hear Tim grin down the other end. "I don't think we have to worry about that."

Maybe Neal should have mentioned something about not asking favours which might get him in trouble with the law?

* * *

Red Robin dropped down in a splay of winged cape. He stood up and walked right into Dick's apartment like he owned the place and was immediately fried by Dick's security system.

"OW!"

Dick tried really hard not to laugh. He had wired the windows with electricity, something which impressed Mozzie. Mozzie was still trying to figure out it if was a spy thing or a vigilante thing while swapping security tips with Neal.

Red Robin used his wrist computer to disable the electricity and slid the door open.

"Really?" he growled with a cocked eyebrow in annoyance.

Dick grinned innocently from where he was sitting and painting. He leaned back and placed the paintbrush onto the table.

"What's up little brother?" he asked.

"I need backup. I've been tracking a crime kingpin who's been causing problems here. I'm going to hit him tonight but he's got private security protecting him." Red Robin pulls out a suitcase and tosses it. Dick caught it on reflex.

Inside was a bright blue Nightwing costume and a computer chip. Dick picked it up.

"What is this?"

"It'll unlock the anklet without alerting the feds," Red Robin said.

Dick was shocked. Not only had Tim made this, but he was giving it to him? "Do you know what I could do with this?"

Tim laughed. "Really? Dick, you're the one guy everyone we know trusts; including Bruce. Bryce might be a spy but he's saved so many lives. And Neal, despite being a conman and thief, is a creation of them both who is the most nonviolent of all your identities. I don't think it's going to be much of a problem."

Maybe Dick should spend more time with people who knew him as Dick and not Neal. It seemed some of the comments people make within Neal's earshot were getting to him a little.

"Alright," he said, taking off the anklet. "Let's do this."

* * *

Nightwing looked across the gap between the two buildings. Their window was lit and showing their target walking around in a fluster.

"He's talking to someone," Red Robin mused. "I have no idea who she is."

"Call girl?" Nightwing suggested.

Red Robin shook his head. "She's too professional. Security's more likely."

"Great," Nightwing sighed. "I was hoping they would be stationed outside the room."

"That might be what they're talking about," Red Robin said. "Want to see if she leaves?"

Nightwing dropped into a sitting position. "Might as well. But I need some sleep tonight."

"I'll get you back before bedtime, Nightwing," Red Robin said in an earnest but teasing tone.

Nightwing laughed, shaking his head as his brother's teasing. "I'm going to get you for that bedtime comment," he said.

They waited but the woman didn't leave.

"Seems she's there to stay," Red Robin finally decreed.

Nightwing bounced to his feet and did a little stretching so he wouldn't pull anything in the upcoming fight. "Alright, who's taking her?"

"You can."

"You're being very generous tonight," Nightwing commented, actually meaning that Red Robin was being rather short with him at times. "Any reason?"

"You don't call enough," Red Robin answered automatically.

"What?"

"Forget it." Red Robin let loose a jump line and flung himself at the opposing building.

Nightwing made a metal note to call his brothers, all his brothers, and catch up with them over the next couple of days. Then he followed Red Robin through the window.

* * *

Glass tinkled around their feet as they landed. Red Robin announced to the target why they were taking him in and pounced. Nightwing was one step ahead, closing the gap between himself and the female security woman. He kicked the gun out of her hand before she could shoot either of them and flipped backwards to avoid a fist flying at his face.

"Verbanski! I paid you to take care of these capes!" the target wheezed.

Verbanski? Nightwing remembered something Bryce had learnt. "Gertrude Verbanski?" he questioned the woman. "You run Verbanski Corp!"

"You've heard of me. I'm impressed."

Nightwing ducked another punch and parried a kick. "Why is private security protecting this guy?"

"His money is as good as anyone else's," Gertude informed him.

Nightwing had to agree with that. Although Verbanski Corp wasn't desperate for money, they would take whatever jobs they wanted and they honored their contracts once made. She was stuck fighting them and them, her.

"Too bad," he commented, executing a couple of false punches, parrying a returned punch and kick and then hooking a foot behind her leg and dragging her to the ground. "Your client is gone."

Red Robin had beaten, tied up and escaped out the window while they had been fighting. Nightwing wondered just how much of the night his brother had predicted. After all, he had brought Nightwing in as a distract for the man's guards like Gertude Verbanski.

An almost spy-like impulse overtook Nightwing as he picked up Gertude's gun. "I'll be taking this," he informed her before following his brother out of the window.

* * *

Nightwing slipped back into his apartment and changed out of his costume. Mozzie had arrived while he was gone and was sleeping on his couch. Neal was glad his friend hadn't taken the bed. He could already feel the siren song of sleep heavy on his eyelids. The Nightwing costume was hidden under his bed and he climbed in, hoping he would feel rested in the morning.

"Neal! You're back!"

Neal groaned at the loud awakening. Even though he was completely awake the moment he felt someone move in the apartment, he wanted to keep his eyes closed for a while longer.

"Mornin' Moz," he mumbled, climbing out of bed in a half-daze. He started getting dressed when his friend cleared his throat loudly behind him.

"Missing something?" Mozzie asked, holding up the anklet. Neal's eyes widened as he laid eyes on it. He panicked a little as he realised Mozzie would now know he could get out of it whenever he wished. "How did you get it off? Why was it off last night? And how did you manage to sneak in? Where were you?"

Neal took the anklet and clipped it back on. He answered the questions in the order asked, "I had help. It was off last night so I could repay the favour. I'm sneaky like that. I can't tell you."

There was a knock at the door.

"The Suit is early," Mozzie commented.

Neal agreed, it was early for Peter. When he opened the door, it wasn't Peter who greeted him.

"Hi, Bryce!" It was Chuck and his team. Standing in the back, next to Casey, was Gertrude Verbanski.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes: I'm just picking and choosing whatever fits into this story. Especially when it comes to Nightwing/Dick Grayson. Anyway, just so you know, Neal told Mozzie about being a spy off-screen, although previous chapters have hinted at it coming.

 

**Chapter 10**

Bryce took a moment to absorb what was happening here. Then he took a deep breath.

"Chuck, what are you doing here?"

"Ain't it obvious, Larkin?" Casey growled. "We're visiting." Casey was the last person Bryce expected to hear that sentence from.

"Are you being sarcastic?" he questioned in a baffled tone.

Casey growled and pushed his way in. Chuck tried to protest the rudeness his teammate was showing but, Bryce could tell there was no point trying. Morgan followed Casey right in and Gertrude was next. Sarah gave Chuck an apologetic look before walking in.

Bryce had moved back, using himself as a barrier between the spies and his criminal friend.

"Neal? Did you go and make enemies of a mob boss or something?" Mozzie questioned, noticing the guns most of their intruders were wearing. "I told you working for the Suit would bring nothing but trouble!"

"This is my 'other' job," Bryce said.

"You did tell him," Sarah said with a look of shock on her face, like she couldn't believe it. "Beckman thought you might except it's not really like you to go against CIA policy and tell people."

"Larkin holds his secrets better than most," Casey admitted in a rare moment of praise.

Mozzie looked over the group once again. Not mob. "Spooks."

Morgan looked around, rubbing his stubbly, dark beard as he looked for the 'spook'.

Casey growled softly. "It's another word for 'spy', you idiot."

Gertrude clicked her tongue softly. "How are you still alive?" she questioned just as quietly.

"How has this team not killed each other yet?" Mozzie asked Bryce. Bryce shrugged. He couldn't pinpoint the reason why, just that it probably had something to do with Chuck.

* * *

Chuck explained that Gertrude was joining them for this mission since her other job had fallen through and they didn't mind the extra hands. Bryce introduced the team to Mozzie, referring to Mozzie as his asset and warning them to leave him alone. He didn't sign up for spy missions.

"Actually, Bryce," Mozzie said, using the name for his friend which the team was using. "I'll be the judge of that."

"We're arresting traitors to the country," Casey said like that was supposed to sell Mozzie on helping them. "Cowards and villains who hide as honest men."

"Uh-huh," Mozzie said, disinterested in that point.

"Mostly FBI agents," Morgan said. There's the part which had Mozzie's interest. Corrupt FBI agents. "Bryce sent a list of suspects in. I don't know how, but..." Morgan said the next bit with distaste, "he's been right about most of them."

"That's because I had Mozzie help gather and put together the information," Bryce said.

"Nice," Morgan said to Moz. "So, how'd you do it?"

"Trade secret," Mozzie responded with a fierce grin.

Gertrude had been thinking throughout this conversation. Finally, she spoke, directly to Mozzie. "What do you know about Nightwing?"

The room went silent.

"Nightwing?" Casey questioned.

"The vigilante?" Mozzie said, leaning forward. Bryce internally winced as the question had Moz's attention.

"He messed with my job last night. Whatever information you're willing to give me would be appreciated."

Gertrude, only nice when she wanted something, Bryce thought.

"You got to fight Nightwing?" Morgan gasped. "Awesome."

"Whomever you were working for must not have been good," Chuck said.

"You were hired by a fool. Only a fool attracts cape attention," Moz said. Bryce had no disagreements with that statement.

Gertrude levelled Mozzie with a look which told him to talk or she would resort to more 'persuasive' methods. Mozzie frowned back.

"What do you want to know?" he asked. This way he didn't have to tell her everything, only whatever she thought to ask.

"Why might he be in New York?"

"He's been in New York before," Morgan said, surprising them all. "With the Teen Titans. Man, I wish I got to spend my teenage years in a tower with Starfire. Have you seen her?"

"Yes," Bryce said. He was mostly responding because it was the only way to deal with the flash of 'don't look at my ex-girlfriend and friend's body like that' jealousy and protectiveness. Most people their age knew Starfire anyway since she had starred in a couple of ads back during her Teen Titan's days. "But don't you have a girlfriend?" Or a creepy crush on Chuck's sister?

"My daughter," Casey growled.

"What?" Bryce questioned.

"He's dating Casey's daughter, Alex."

That was unexpected. However, Sarah wasn't the type to lie about something like that. He wondered how Casey ended up with a daughter and how Morgan had managed to date the girl without Casey interfering.

"Anyway," Morgan continued, "Starfire's back in the city with the Teen Titans. Not to mention, there's that new Titan's team. Is it any surprise that Nightwing might be back?"

"Which Teen Titans team?" Mozzie asked Morgan. "There's currently two rosters. The one with Red Robin which I think is disbanded or the one with Robin?"

"Robin's," Morgan responded. "Although they're both technically Robin."

"Isn't one Red Robin? Doesn't that make them different?" Chuck questioned while Casey and Sarah started having their own conversation about their plans for the rest of the day. Apparently, Casey's job would be to follow up on anyone who a target contacts and see if they were also involved. It was a big job and she was offering her assistance.

"There's been four Robins, Red Robin having been one of them. No one knows why he moved on, although he probably just grew up," Mozzie said.

"It's possible that he had to move on to make space for the new Robin," Morgan said, "and there are five Robins, not four."

"Five?" Mozzie huffed.

"There were pictures of a girl Robin in Gotham. It could be six, if the Robin who took over after she left wasn't the previous Robin like people thought but a new one."

"Considering this is the first I've heard of the girl Robin, it's probably five. I would have noticed if the Robin changed after her, even if I never heard about her," Moz said.

"Does it matter?" Gertrude growled. "I'm only interested in Nightwing."

"The first Robin," Mozzie said with a wise nod. "Good luck with him. He'll destroy you."

"Maybe. Or maybe he'll just sick the Teen Titans on her," Morgan said.

Or maybe he's standing in the room and both horrified and impressed with this conversation, Bryce thought.

Gertrude was frustrated with the history Mozzie gave her. It was nothing that could help her find or defeat Nightwing. She could be patient here. After all, it was unlikely Nightwing would come after her again, he and Red Robin had only been after her client. Taking a hit to her paycheck and reputation frustrated her, just as much as losing her favourite gun to the vigilante did.

* * *

The air in the office wasn't as tense as it had been the past few days. Fowler's team were off-site, to everyone's relief. Chuck's team was quieter, kept to themselves and weren't harassing Neal or Peter or anyone from White Collar. They could almost believe they were just hosting another FBI team, like Organised Crime or something, rather than OPR.

Peter wasn't looking a gift horse in the mouth.

"As long as they don't bother us, we won't bother them," he said. He was still alert but not as alert as he was with Fowler's team. "What do you think Neal?"

Neal closed the case he had been looking at to look Peter in the eye. "I think Chuck's an okay guy. An odd fit for OPR."

"He does seem more like he'd be more at home in the Cyber Crimes division," Peter mused. "We've got a case were camera footage was destroyed and it seems no one saw anything. I wonder if he can restore digital camera footage."

Neal saw Chuck standing in the entrance of the conference room and told Peter to check with the man himself. Chuck was curious but said he could give it a shot.

"We'll bring you the camera and files after we interview the owner."

"Owner of what?" Neal asked, curious. He knew Peter was going to bring him along and the more information he had, the better.

"A jewel tiara," Peter responded. "We've got the Crow in the city."

"The Crow?" Neal questioned sceptically. Who named these criminals?

"Doesn't naming them give them more ego?" Chuck questioned.

Peter sighed. "Maybe," he said with a glance in Neal's direction. Neal grinned back. It was a little cool to know the FBI had a name for him. "But, until we can get an identity for a criminal, we need some way to refer to them. Like Neal. We didn't have a name to go with the face for months. The only reason we even had a face is because of my gut."

"It's because I spoke to you," Neal responded. "I handed my appearance to you on a platter." Of course a lesser agent would have ignored or forgotten about some guy in a suit asking him questions. Neal had enjoyed taunting the FBI agent. "What's this Crow's deal?"

"Crow steals large jewels which have been embedded in jewellery," Peter said. "They destroy any recordings or cameras which is why I wanted to get Chuck's help."

"Can I come to?" Chuck asked as they started to walk off.

Peter and Neal shared a look. Neal was conflicted because this was no CIA business but having Chuck come along might not be a bad thing.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

They arrived at the private property from where the tiara had been stolen. It was a mansion with a yard large enough to make Chuck stare with his mouth open. Even though he had seen plenty of rich places as a spy, it seemed they still caught his attention and wonder.

Chuck's stare of wonder reappeared as they walked up to the door. Neal smirked at him.

"What?" Chuck shrugged. "I'm still expecting one of you to tell me to stay in the car."

"Nah," Neal responded. "Peter's not like that. He lets the criminal tag along so why not the OPR agent?"

"It means I'm not going to let you out of my sight," Peter said, mostly to Neal, in warning. "Don't touch anything Neal."

Neal clicked his tongue as if this was a great inconvenience.

He saw the curious glance that Chuck shot him and he grinned back. To his surprise, rather than looking annoyed or confused, Chuck smiled back.

"What?"

"You're happy. That's something I haven't seen since Stanford," Chuck whispered as Peter explained to the staff why they were here. "This role suits you more than the one of 'perfect super spy'."

Neal hadn't expected Chuck to notice. After he had betrayed Chuck and only hung around the CIA for missions, he didn't enjoy being Bryce. After all, he was supposed to have had his 'last mission' years ago. His family weren't happy that he was continuing to spy but he couldn't help it.

When help was needed, he helped. Even if it meant hurting himself in the process.

* * *

The room the tiara had been stored in was a display room. It was similar to a museum and the case the tiara had been displayed in was protected by a pressure plate.

"Fancy but stupid," Neal commented. "We can't eliminate anyone because everyone probably knew this was here, even guests."

"It was a lovely piece," Chuck commented, looking at the picture which had been stuck on the case. "I guess they wanted it to be seen."

Neal started dusting for prints while Peter had the staff direct Chuck over to the camera room. Chuck took one look at the set up and groaned. It was like someone had taken a crowbar to the set up. The computers had been smashed and Chuck was glad he had brought his laptop because it was the only way he would get anything out of the broken cameras and computer.

He had pulled out a hard-drive when the hairs on the back of his neck started to rise.

* * *

They were locked in. After Chuck had left, Peter had tried the door so he could question some of the staff about what happened that night. But the door hadn't budged.

"Neal," Peter sighed and Neal pulled out his lockpicks.

"They locked us in," Neal pointed out. And it had to be those doors which had keyholes on both sides and no way to unlock without a key. Well, no way for an honest citizen.

"I'm sure it was just a mistake," Peter said. However, he didn't make any move to stop Neal.

Neal wasn't so sure. There was something off about this. He had a feeling Chuck might be in danger. There was a pressure from his lockpicks and Neal had just enough time to hide them and jump back as the door opened.

"Is that a sword?" Peter questioned right before Neal shoved him out of the way of the big, sharp blade.

"Oh great," Neal sighed. The man who had showed them in, Will, was now attacking them.

Peter pulled out his gun. "Put the weapon down," he ordered.

Neal could see Will had no intention of following Peter's orders.

"Peter!" he shouted in warning. He jumped forward, underneath the weapon and wrapped his arms around Will's waist. He shoved the man back and twisted off and around before Will could regain his balance. "Why are you attacking us?"

Will grinned. The older man seemed happy he was asking. "Bryce Larkin," he said, "I heard you were dead."

Neal dodged a thrust and grabbed Will's arm, shoving him to the ground. "Once more, why are you attacking us?" Not receiving an answer, he pulled Will's arm back and repeated the question.

"We were hired. I wanted to see what Bryce Larkin was really like, if he lived up to the rumours and myths."

Neal could see that Peter was curious but put his questions aside in order to get the assassin restrained.

"Peter," Neal said, "he said 'we'."

Peter realised what Neal meant immediately. There was more than one assassin. "Chuck."

* * *

Neal bolted down the hallway. When he reached the sharp corner, he bounced up and kicked off the wall to get around without slowing down. Peter's gasp of surprise only registered as keeping taps on the agent's location. Peter could keep up, Neal was almost certain of it.

"Neal, third door on the left!" Peter called out as the conman jumped and kicked around another corner.

It was slightly obvious. The door was thicker than those around it and made or something resistant to fire. Neal tried the handle but wasn't surprised when it didn't budge. He knelt down, ready to pick the lock.

Peter came down the hall and the door opened.

"Agent Carmichael!" Peter called. "Are you alright?"

Chuck was confused for a moment before realising that they had probably been attacked too. Neal stood up, sighing in relief that his friend was safe.

"Yeah," Chuck responded, slightly listless. It was then that Neal spotted the body lying on the ground just inside the room.

"That's good," Peter said. He spotted the body the moment he reached the door. He pushed past Chuck to check the assassin's pulse.

"Chuck wouldn't kill him," Neal said with a frown. Peter paused and looked up at Neal with his 'I know you're hiding something, now spill' look. "What?"

"How do you know each other?"

"What?" Chuck questioned. He and Neal shared baffled looks. Rather than 'what is he thinking?' that they hoped Peter thought it was, they were communicating 'how did he know?'

"Neal, I know enough to see that you know this agent," Peter said. "And Carmichael," Peter stressed the name, "I know that everything seems official, but the more I dig, the more I see another agency messing around in mine."

"Another agency?"

"It feels like NSA or CIA."

"Or a team which is both and neither," Chuck corrected. Neal glared at him. Chuck shrugged at him. "He knows. And you trust him."

"Seriously? You're going to trust someone just because I do? I'm not the best at that kind of thing."

"Really? Because the number of people you trust can probably be counted on one hand," Chuck countered.

Bruce, Jason, Tim, Damian, Chuck, Alfred, Barbara, Peter, Mozzie; that was certainly more than a hand.

"It feels like I'm the only person you trust sometimes," Chuck continued. "So, if you trust Peter, I can trust him too."

"Do you trust Chuck?" Peter asked Neal.

Neal nodded. "Although you two put a lot of faith in me. That's silly. I'm lying to you."

"You're a part of Chuck's team," Peter said.

Neal recoiled. "Oh no. I actually turned down the invitation to work with them." After a beat, he added, "although I did try to poach Sarah away from Chuck."

Chuck snorted. "That wasn't one of your finest moments."

"Gee, thanks Chuck. But I'm still lying to you."

"How?" Chuck asked, curious.

Neal reached back and pulled Gertrude's gun out from his waistband. There were no bullets in the gun but he had decided to keep it on him. He hadn't wanted to risk Gertrude finding it in his apartment.

"Neal, if you had been caught with that-" Peter started to say.

"What?" Neal interrupted. "I'm a non-violent criminal. There's nothing in my contract about staying away from weapons. I can have a gun, you know. I actually do but I don't use it. This gun isn't mine."

"This belongs to Gertrude," Chuck said, having flashed on the weapon. Gertrude did love her personalised pieces. Neal could see Chuck putting the pieces together. Neal had her gun. Her gun which had been taken by Nightwing. Chuck knew the kinds of things Bryce was capable of.

"So, are you wearing your uniform under your clothes?"

"What? No," Neal responded. He reached into the hidden pocket inside his jacket and pulled out a wing-ding. "But I do have some weapons on me."

"I think you have a lot of explaining to do," Peter said with a sigh as he took the wing-ding from Neal's hand.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Peter and Neal stood around the camera room as Chuck typed on the computer. There had been physical damage but he assured them that the data was still retrievable.

"If the data can still be retrieved, is this a case of a copycat or lack of skill in whomever was investigating the Crow until now?" Neal questioned.

"What do you mean?" Chuck said.

"The Crow destroys camera footage but the footage wasn't destroyed, just the casing. Is it possible that this crime was committed by a copycat in order to attract us?"

Peter couldn't help thinking about the assassins they had defeated and tied up. Neal's theory was possible.

"At least they called me Bryce," Neal mused.

"Really? You consider that good news?" Peter questioned in disbelief. "Dick, you were playing Bryce and Bryce was Neal, that's a pretty deep cover."

"They know about Bryce Larkin but not Dick or Nightwing," Neal said. "I consider it a good thing. They think they're just dealing with a dead spy."

Chuck paused in his typing. "I guess those rumours that your body was taken by Red Hood are probably true then. Red Hood has been spotted with Nightwing."

"And Batman and Red Robin and Robin, he's had a lot of team ups for a guy who claims he'd 'never work with us'."

Chuck turned to stare at Neal. In an unsurprised tone, he said, "I don't know if you're trying to shock us or anything but I've honestly been in crazier situations."

Peter stared at Chuck like he was the crazy one.

"Really?" Neal questioned, curious.

Chuck grinned. "I have a supercomputer in my head. I'm part of the CIA. My best friend from college died and came back and died again. Oh, and he's back. But my worst enemy has also died and come back. He tried to destroy the internet and technology as we know it."

"That's a Friday night," Neal said, making a motion like he was giving a toast with an invisible glass.

"I became top dog in a prison," Chuck said.

There was silence for a moment while Neal and Peter marvelled at how that might have happened.

"Sunday night," Neal said, building on his previous comment.

"Seriously?" Peter sighed, shaking his head. This was the part where he decided he didn't need to know. He would just focus on the parts which fall under the FBI's rulebook. "Let's just figure out it this is the Crow or not."

Dick and Chuck shared a grin before getting to work.

* * *

The owner of the mansion was overseas. It seemed his staff has been replaced while he was away, without his knowledge. The previous staff had either been told they were fired or they turned up dead. The tiara had indeed been stolen and he still wanted it back.

"Just tell me if we're going to be adding these murders to the Crow's rap sheet," Peter growled at Chuck and Neal. They had booked the FBI meeting room in order to work together without people overhearing. Information on the Crow had been spread out across the tables and Chuck had his laptop in front of him while Neal and Peter were working out of the files.

"It looks like it," Chuck responded with a frustrated sigh. "Even though the cameras recorded a man in black walking into the room, disabling the alarms and leaving, he was smart enough to keep his face from the cameras. He did have to take his gloves off to disable the alarm though."

"How did the investigation team miss the signs of tampering?" Peter questioned.

Neal looked over the report. "Looks like they ignored it when they realised the case would be bumped to us. How rude."

"That's life," Peter countered. "We know now. I'll send Jones and Diana to see if there are any fingerprints."

Chuck typed away for a couple of moments before saying, "well, he's wearing a strange ring so it might be simple enough to figure out who he is."

"Let me see." Neal groaned when he saw the familiar gold ring. It was something he spent months trying to track down when it had been right in front of him.

"What is it?" Peter also let out a groan once he caught a glimpse of the ring. "Chuck, that's a 10 year FBI pin," he told the bewildered agent. "Most of us get them turned into rings."

"Peter has one," Neal informed him.

"That both makes it easier and harder," Chuck pointed out. Peter wasn't happy about it being another FBI agent gone bad. "If it makes you feel any better, CIA agents seem to go bad often."

"Maybe it's just that you're sent in to deal with them," Neal pointed out. "And I do have a list of possible FBI agents. Maybe if we focus our search on any who have been with the FBI for 10 or more years?"

* * *

Mozzie glared. Neal knew that he wasn't angry but was more annoyed. With him.

"I can't believe you told the Suit and Chuck."

"You're the one who didn't want to know."

"I wanted to figure it out and guess. But that didn't mean you could go and tell the FBI and CIA who you are!"

"We won't be repeating it," Chuck insisted.

"Really," Peter droned. There was no reason he needed to report Neal Caffrey as Nightwing. White Collar wasn't exactly concerned with vigilantes.

Neal knew that their assurances didn't really matter to Mozzie. Moz knew that Neal had decided they were trustworthy and was upset that Neal had told them in the first place without waiting for him to figure it out.

Chuck opened his mouth and Mozzie shot him a look. "Don't you even think about giving me a hint. I will figure it out myself." Mozzie's pride lent itself to strange things, but was a harmless endeavor.

"Surely there can't be that many heroes around Neal's age," Peter mused.

"The only thing I can be sure of is that he's not the Flash," Mozzie said, "because Neal doesn't have red hair nor runs really fast."

"The Flash does everything fast," Chuck pointed out.

Neal wondered if it would be a good idea to call Wally over. It had been a while since they had hung out.

"Neal doesn't have superpowers though," Peter pointed out. Mozzie and Chuck stared at Peter and then at Neal.

Neal confirmed it.

"B-but, but! You were shot! How did you not die?" Chuck questioned. "You should at least have some kind of accelerated healing!"

"Uh... no. Just a really good physique and the best medicine."

"Neal. I've seen some of the stunts you've pulled," Mozzie pointed out. "You can almost fly. Or hover. Or something."

"No. I'm just a gymnast." Better than saying acrobat. "And have been put through bat-training."

"Don't call it that," Peter sighed.

"Don't say that!" Mozzie groaned. "I said no hints! Now I can never unhear it!"

It took a moment for Neal to realise what he had said. 'Bat-training'. If Mozzie hadn't thought in Batman's direction yet, he was certain to now.

"Sorry."

* * *

Peter was put at the top of Mozzie's list in a passive-aggressive move on the conman's part. The list was longer than they thought it would be, considering that they were looking at anyone who was dirty and had been in the FBI for years.

Except for Peter. Who Mozzie added just because it would bug Neal and Peter.

"What about Agent Ruiz?" Chuck asked.

"No," Peter and Neal said in unison.

"Lots of skeletons in his closet but this isn't one of them," Mozzie confirmed.

"Cruz?" Neal questioned. He had been surprised to see her file here. Especially since she hadn't been in the FBI for ten years. Mozzie had left it in because she had worked a couple of cases with Neal.

"I don't think she has the backing for something like this," Peter said. However, no one missed it when he reached over and slid her file his way.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Diana walked into Peter's house with a file on hand. She grinned as she slapped it down onto the coffee table, causing the men in the room to stare at her.

"Jones matched the fingerprints from the cut cords," she said. She smiled at Chuck. "Good find."

"Thanks," Chuck said nervously. "Who'd they match?"

"A Brandon Newman."

"Who?" Peter questioned.

Neal dug around in the pile until he pulled out a thin file. "Here. He's a clerk. Mozzie flagged him because 'his qualifications are being wasted'." Personally, Neal agreed with that thought but sometimes you did a job because it was all you could get.

"Skill with computers, check," Chuck said as he scanned the file. "But is he our guy?"

"Maybe we should try questioning him?" Peter mused.

"Maybe we should let Casey question him," Neal suggested. Chuck gave him a disapproving look. "What?"

"You know what," Chuck muttered. "Casey doesn't 'question', he ' _questions_ '." As in torture.

Peter narrowed his eyes. "I don't like that sound of that. Neal, Casey isn't to do any ' _questioning_ '. I think questioning will be left to members of the FBI."

Neal sighed. "The moment you question him, he's gone. At least the CIA keeps people under lock and key while questioning."

Peter muttered something about how that wasn't what law enforcement should do and that the rules and laws were there for a reason. And something about 'stupid spies colouring outside the lines'. Apparently there was a little animosity on both sides.

"Should you really be saying that?" Chuck said to Neal. "You were kept under lock and key while they questioned you. As I recall, you weren't really forthcoming with information."

"That's because any one of them could have been working for FULCRUM or the Ring."

"So you called for me? The guy you pulled into this?"

"Because I trust you."

"Not because you could check my identity using Klingon?"

Peter looked up from Brandon's information. "You speak Klingon?"

Neal rolled his eyes. "Yes, Peter. I speak a variety of languages. Klingon happens to be one of them."

"That's kind of interesting," Peter responded. "But not as interesting as this." He pulled out a paper from the information. "Brandon has a second place of residence."

"Isn't this a warehouse?" Neal questioned, familiar with New York's districts. Especially those districts which sold buildings that could be used for hideouts. No wonder Mozzie flagged this guy. He was probably living a couple of buildings away from Monday; the safe house, or something. Mozzie was probably looking to get rid of a neighbour.

Chuck seemed to be thinking along the same lines. "A warehouse can be renovated into a place of residence but it could also be used for almost anything. Which is kind of the point." As an afterthought, he added, "at least it's not an underground base."

* * *

They gathered up the teams and split them up in order to raid the warehouse. It wasn't completely legal as Peter's team didn't have a warrant however, working with Chuck's team gave them a little leeway. Chuck's team took point and they were there officially to back them up. It was on Chuck's team to have the paperwork done and to not mess this up.

Neal asked Peter and Chuck to keep his secret. His Bryce secret and his Nightwing one. Peter understood as his team could believe that Neal would break the law to help people; although believing that he was the Nightwing might be a stretch. Chuck's team would believe the same thing. It was not a stretch from what either of them knew of Neal; kind but also with a skewed moral compass.

* * *

The warehouse appeared just like all the others around it. Empty but owned by someone somewhere. Neal frowned at it.

"Expecting something else?" Peter asked.

Neal shook his head. "Just sick of warehouses. Nothing good seems to happen in them."

"That's because you're only ever near them when someone's up to something," Chuck commented. He looked over his shoulder at the teams. "Ready everyone?"

"Yep!" Morgan called back with a grin.

"He's excited," Peter commented fondly. His team was a little more serious, wearing vests and carrying weapons as they got ready to storm the place. Neal, who was usually the lighthearted one of the team, was silent as he looked over the outside of the place.

"We ready?" he asked.

"Let's do this!" Chuck agreed. The FBI and CIA stormed the building. Neal followed Peter and Chuck inside a side door. It wasn't until they were inside that he pulled out his escrima sticks. He held one comfortably in each hand as he followed his friends.

They reached the end of the hall. Before them stood a locked door of steel.

"Neal," Peter said, pressing his back against the wall. Chuck mirrored him, keeping his eyes on the lock rather than the whole door.

Neal had it open in moments. He swung it open and could almost hear Chuck's jaw hit the ground as they got a look at the room inside.

"What do you think?" Brandon questioned. He was spread out on a luxury sofa, sitting in what looked like a high class apartment.

Chuck glanced behind them. The door still led out into the run down hallway they had come through. Which didn't explain the fancy and clean apartment they were now standing in.

"It's nice," Neal said looking around. He used the movement to walk further inside and closer to their target. He spotted a painting on the wall. "A reproduction?" he questioned.

"Oh no. It's the real thing," Brandon said. "Got it on auction."

Neal's lips pressed together and he turned back to Peter. Peter moved to arrest Brandon. He started stating the man's rights when the floor panel he stepped on dropped away.

"Peter!" Neal cried as the FBI agent fell.

"And now I have an FBI agent in my dungeon," Brandon said, standing up and grinning at them.

"You have a dungeon?" Chuck questioned.

When Brandon nodded, Neal snorted a 'seriously?'.

It took a moment for Chuck to process the positive response. Then he pulled out the pair of handcuffs Peter had given him before they began.

"Doesn't change a thing. If you think the FBI agent was the one to watch out for, that's where you're wrong."

"I guess. But who knows what'll happen when he runs into my army."

"Your... army?" Neal questioned in shock. How would an ex-clerk get his hands on an army?

Next to him, Chuck sighed so he guessed this wasn't the first time Chuck had gone up against someone with their own army. He didn't even flinch when Brandon snapped his fingers and the doors opened with at least ten men storming in, armored and armed to the teeth. They looked familiar.

"Verbanski corp?" Neal questioned, recognising the uniforms from Red Robin's research.

That gave Chuck pause. "You've got to be joking. Gertrude wouldn't be helping someone like this."

"What can I say?" Brandon bragged. "Money talks."

One of the men decided to clear things up.

"We don't work for Verbanski anymore. We took the state of the art armour and weapons and left."

"Great. An army in stolen office supplies," Neal quipped.

"Everyone takes office supplies," Chuck pointed out, continuing the joke. Neal had shifted closer to the hole Peter had dropped down. Chuck followed him without words, even as he jumped down. Peter might need their help.

* * *

They landed in a grey room with a single door. There were bars crossing the small window in the door, obviously there so they could check the occupants of the room without opening the door.

"This was a trap," Neal stated.

"Obviously," Chuck sighed. "It would have been nice if this had gone smoothly."

Peter frowned at them. With his hands on his hips, he asked why they had jumped down the hole.

"He has an army, Peter," Neal pointed out.

"Aren't you supposed to be some vigilante hero?" Peter countered.

"Okay, there's a time for retreating and that was it," Neal said. "We gained nothing from staying there, except the possibility of arresting a minor spy criminal." It did grate on him a little that he had to retreat from the 'minor spy criminal' but he would get his vindication when the finally arrested the guy. "And that would have come with some injuries if not deaths on our side. Plus, I'm sure we can escape from here."

Peter and Chuck eyed the door. "How?" Chuck asked.

Neal reached for his Nightwing belt, hidden under his shirt and jacket and pulled out a block of C4 and a detonator.

"You've got to be kidding," Peter said in disbelief. In contrast, Chuck's eyes were sparkling.

Neal set the stuff up on the hinges and blasted them to pieces. With a well-placed kick, the door slipped sideways out of the lock and frame and to the ground.

Stepping out into the dungeon, they could deduce a couple of things. They were underground and there were more of the 'army' down here. Footsteps were quickly coming their way.

Neal kept a good grip on his escrima sticks as he ran in the direction of the footsteps. He jumped and kicked off the wall the moment the two men raised their guns to shoot, not giving them a chance to properly aim as he kneed one in the face and whacked the other with his stick.

"You could leave some for the rest of us," Chuck said as he walked over. Peter just held out his hand for zip-ties.

Neal didn't ask how Peter knew he was carrying them.

"Just a regular day in the office," Peter commented as they secured the guards.

Chuck sighed. "Yep. I called it by the way; it's an underground base."


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

* * *

The corridors and tunnels led out into a large area.

"An underground subway," Peter said in a mystified tone while Chuck almost squealed with glee. Neal was worried. They had moved farther than he had thought, putting them away from the warehouse where the target was staying.

"Now I know why he hasn't been stopped," he commented. "There's a chance the other teams were dropped in here."

"We should focus on regrouping then," Peter said. He looked for any ideas from them. Chuck shrugged while Neal just started walking. Their best option was to pick a direction and trust that everyone else's training would keep them alive.

They walked for a while, meeting no one and nothing. Chuck wondered out loud if there even was a way out of here. There had to be, after all, they doubted their enemies would have trapped themselves down here.

"Is that the exit?" Chuck asked when Neal stopped in front of a metal door. Neal kicked it and frowned.

"It's got an electronic lock," he said. He didn't have anything on him for hacking a door.

Chuck tried but he couldn't get anything out the lock. Peter questioned if it was real or if it was just a distraction.

"Careful Peter, you're starting to sound like Moz," Neal teased. Right at that moment, the door beeped and unlocked. "Nicely done, Chuck!"

Chuck was baffled. "I didn't do anything." The door swung open to reveal a rather frazzled Orion. Although, Orion often looked frazzled with his messy hair and tendency to wear oversized clothes.

Chuck recoiled in shock, eyes wide and body tense.

Peter stepped in front of the frozen nerd herder. "Who are you?"

"Orion," Orion responded, panting a little.

"What are you doing here?" Neal questioned calmly. He was the only one here who knew both who Orion was and that he was alive.

"Who's Orion?" Peter interrupted.

"He died," Chuck said in a strangled voice.

"So did Bryce," Orion said. "I was saved by forethought and Batman's planning."

"Batman does like to plan for everything," Neal commented. "But what brings you here?"

Orion cleared his throat. "Ah-hem. Well… I may have heard rumours that Frost was in town."

"Frost?" Neal questioned.

"Mum's here?" Chuck said. Neal hadn't known that. Frost was Chuck's mother?

"No wonder you didn't want us going after her when she started causing problems for Chuck," he grumbled to Orion.

Orion smiled. "Actually, I did tell your family. Maybe you should contact them more often?"

"If I contact them more often, I'll be on the phone to them every day," Neal said. It wouldn't be bad but it would cut into his time, a lot. As in, he wouldn't have any left.

"What about Mum?" Chuck asked.

Orion tapped away on his wrist computer, an updated version of the one which was popular among members of the Batman family. "She's helping Sarah out right now. It appears that someone on your team thought she would make good backup."

"Where are they?" Peter asked, determined to get out of this place.

Orion pointed down the hall. The rest of the teams must have fallen down here as well.

"Let's go," Chuck said. Neal grabbed his arm.

"Hold on. Our target might be using this time to escape. We go after the other teams and he'll be gone by the time we get up there."

Peter hated to agree, it was obvious that Chuck cared about what happened to his team, but, "Orion's the only one who seems to have any idea where they are."

"And I'm not about to let him walk around here without some kind of backup," Neal pointed out.

Orion and Chuck shared a look.

"Why not?" Chuck asked his father.

"His whole family is rather overprotective," Orion sighed. "And since I know their secret, they take no risks with me."

"You're a prisoner?" Peter asked. Because that's what it sounded like.

Both Orion and Neal instantly denied it.

"You once blew up a whole building to fake your death," Neal pointed out. "I think you can take care of yourself."

Apparently proving that you could take care of yourself to Neal's family involved either big explosions or faking your death, or a combination of the two. Neal certainly did that latter a couple of times.

"But, they do want to keep me safe," Orion said. "Which is why they sent Robin out here with me."

"And where is he?" Chuck asked.

Neal groaned and rubbed his face. "You ditched Robin? He's going to be a hissy ball of rage when we locate him, you know?"

"Since guarding me was 'beneath him', I don't think he'd mind," Orion commented lightly.

Chuck frowned and looked to Neal for why Robin might say that.

"Yeah, okay, he would say that. He was probably frustrated that people seem to be leaving him out of the fighting. But, even more frustrating would be losing you. Even if you walked off yourself."

"Aren't you the one who said that we should go after the target and that looking for anyone else would give him time to escape?" Orion countered.

Neal paused.

"He's got you there," Peter said, gripping his shoulder. Neal knew the little grin Peter was sporting, the one which said he was pleased that someone managed to out-talk him.

"That's what you think," Neal grumbled. He started walking up the stairs beyond the door. "I'm taking point."

"You don't have a gun on you," Peter pointed out.

"Don't need it!" Neal called back.

* * *

Chuck frowned as another criminal dropped from Neal's attacks.

"I think you made him mad," he said to Orion. He was still trying to wrap his head around his father being alive. It wasn't the first time that a spy had come back from the dead, but he had been there when his dad had died. He had mourned him. Sure, Ellie hadn't been able to believe it at first but they eventually accepted it and moved on.

"He's not the only one," Orion commented in that quiet way his important speech was said. It was soft but punctuated. When he had been a kid, Chuck had thought it was because his dad knew everything. Now he realised it was because his dad did know almost everything. Stupid spies.

"No, he's not," Chuck countered.

"I'm glad I ran into your first. Your sister would probably slap me," Orion said. "And your mother..." Chuck was relieved that his dad let it trail off there. He didn't want to know how that sentence would end.

A gun fired from behind them. Peter had shot a man who had been sneaking up on them. The injured man groaned, clutching his knee and fumbling for his weapon. A flying escrima stick knocked him out cold.

"Nice shot, Peter," Neal praised as he regathered his weapon. Orion quickly tapped away on his wrist computer.

"No alarms have been raised," he mused.

"Think they know where we are?" Chuck asked, worried. Was this all one big game to Brandon Newman?

No one could give him a definitive answer. They had climbed the stairs, only to come out at another set of corridors. At this point, they didn't know whether they were above or below ground, they had been so scrambled.

"I hate mazes," Neal commented with venom in his voice. "Orion, are you able to contact Robin at all?"

"I've been trying," Orion said. "There's interference but I can't be certain if it's on our end or his."

"Can I see?" Neal questioned. Orion presented his wrist and Neal tapped away for a couple of moments. "The Titans broadcast on a frequency which reaches all over New York. Ah, there it is. We have connection."

"How do the Titans do that?" Chuck questioned, rather interested in how they created and maintained a frequency like that.

"I'll tell you about it later, son," Orion said. Chuck pouted but dropped his question. After all, he could always ask Neal later.

Peter noticed Neal pulling something off the hidden belt he was wearing.

"It's a repeater," Neal said. It would extend their frequency, possibly reaching whatever black spot Robin had walked into. "I really should have been placing these things earlier." He tossed it and it stuck to the roof.

"It might be able to reach Robin. Or Frost," Neal said. "If you want to send a message, do it now." He didn't mention that he was monitoring the repeater and that someone carrying compatible technology was in range.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes: At least now I know why it had been a while since my last update... I thought I had posted this chapter already. Sorry about that.

 

**Chapter 15**

* * *

They walked out into a warehouse empty of things. Unfortunately, it wasn't empty of people. Ten armoured guards all turned as one to point their guns at them.

Neal had time to curse before the lights went out. Although they hadn't had time to coordinate a response, he had to hope that Orion had gone through a little of Bat training before coming here. He grabbed Peter just under the arms with one hand and fired off his grappling hook with the other. They were jerked up into the air moments before muzzles flashed in the darkness and bangs filled the air.

Neal pulled Peter up onto the support beam and bounced to his feet, trying to see in the dark. His heart hammered in his chest. The safety on Peter's gun clicked off. He could faintly hear the tapping of fingers on a screen so Orion was probably safe. There was the sound of flesh hitting flesh. Neal grabbed his mask, which had been hidden in his belt with his grappling hook, and shoved it on his face. The mask had night-vision installed and it quickly adjusted so that he could see. Orion was on a beam across from them. Chuck had somehow gotten behind the guys and was fighting.

Intersect or no intersect, Chuck was going to be overwhelmed. Already the helmets the guards were wearing were starting to adjust to the darkness. Neal growled as a couple took aim. He grabbed his escrima sticks and jumped down, rolling up with a punch aimed at one who had a finger on his gun's trigger.

"Orion! Flash bang!" he ordered as he took out two more guys. The verbal command allowed his mask to switch into a dark mode as everything around him lit up for a second. Then his vision was back and he took down five more guys while Chuck got the rest.

The lights flickered back on.

"This thing is so cool!" Chuck crowed as he touched the mask on his face. "When Dad pushed it onto my face, I thought, 'what do I need to hide my identity for?' but it almost instantly allowed me to see!"

"That's great. How do we get down?" Peter asked, looking across at Orion and then down at them.

"That wasn't exactly covered when I got the low-down on how to use these things," Orion answered. "I think we're supposed to jump."

"Don't jump!" Chuck and Neal said in unison.

"If you haven't been trained to fall from great height, it's seriously dangerous," Neal said.

"You don't think I don't know that?" Peter grumbled. "Of course it's dangerous."

Neal chuckled as he remember that Peter wasn't a costumed hero in training or impulsive teenager.

"I'll get you down," he said, pulling out his grappling hook. Everyone watched in interest as he shot himself up into the rafters again and grabbed Peter. He switched the line from retract to extend and dropped to the ground. The line slowly brought them down.

He then did the same with Orion, but he explained how it worked to the former CIA engineer. Orion nodded and Neal was certain he wouldn't get stuck up high again.

"I can't believe they didn't show you how to get down," Chuck said to Orion.

Orion shrugged and nervously picked at the lint on his arms. "It was a 'get high and don't move until we come get you' kind of thing."

"Smart," Peter said. It was obvious that while Orion could be in the field, he excelled more as support.

"It won't work on Neal though," Orion said to him. "The kid was raised in the air."

"How did Chuck get down?" Neal questioned. After all, he had to have gone up with Orion in order to avoid getting shot and receive the mask which was still on his face.

"Once I could see, I flashed. The intersect has 'get down from high places' apparently programmed into it."

Neal nodded his understanding and reached into his belt and got out the mask gum remover. It would get the glue off so Chuck could remove the mask.

"Aw," Chuck said regretfully as Neal sprayed it on him with a quick explanation. The mask came off. Neal did the same to his. His costume was at June's so the mask would only put his identity at risk.

* * *

"I am revising our theory," Chuck said as they walked around warehouses, looking for theirs. Now that they had escaped the underground and the trap warehouse they were trying to locate the one they had started at.

"Which theory?" Neal asked. He seemed to be the only who knew where they were going and, therefore, the only one sounding cheerful as he spoke.

"The one where the Crow we started out chasing was a copycat. This Brandon guy is smart. Smarter than he seemed."

"Sounds familiar," Peter said. Chuck and Neal stared at him. "What?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"You two obviously. You're smarter than you seem."

"Thanks. So are you," Neal said humorously.

Peter gave him the 'don't mess with me, Neal' look. "I had some people look at the same computers which Chuck looked at. You know, the security ones? They spent most of the time marvelling at Chuck's set up. Apparently he made a Frankenstein out of the computer."

"Frankenstein or Frankenstein's monster?" Neal questioned. It was an important distinction and one which Jason would have wanted.

Chuck snickered while Peter rolled his eyes.

"Chuck is the Doctor Frankenstein who made a monster of those computers."

"I didn't do anything special. Any of the white shirts at the Buy More could have done it."

"It's called 'cutting corners'," Neal said, well aware of how a Buy More worked. Which was probably just the kind of unorthodox fix the Crow hadn't been expecting.

"As long as it works, it's good. I believe Lester came up with a little of what I used."

"Whatever it was, the tech guys were both horrified and impressed. Ah, here we are." The warehouse where they had started came into view. Peter gave a relieved sigh and squared his shoulders as they made their way over to the delivery van parked a short way away outside. Peter banged on the back door and let himself into the FBI van.

"Tell me what's happening in there, Jones," he ordered. Jones gave him a shocked look before saying that he hadn't heard anything since the teams had gone in.

"I'm still waiting for backup. I'm starting to doubt that my call went through."

"It probably didn't."

"What happened in there? It's completely silent," Jones asked.

"It was a trap," Peter said. "He dropped us into an underground maze and had guards stationed to shoot us if we escaped."

"Okay." Jones didn't sound convinced about the validity of that but it was Peter so he moved on and pointed to Orion. "And who's he?"

"Names aren't necessary," Orion said. He made his way through the van and took a seat next to Jones. "I hope you don't mind if I borrow your computers. Chuck, I assume you'll be going back in there for Sarah."

"Yeah," Chuck said. Although he sounded angry about it. Neal gave him a questioning look. "And you will be here when I get out or I'll tell Mum."

"Ah, yes... your mother," Orion muttered. "Maybe it would be best if-"

"I'm not keeping this from her."

"You should probably tell her you're alive," Neal advised. Orion fiddled with his wrist computer and shifted uncomfortably. "Coming back from the dead isn't easy but it won't stay secret for long now. Better she hears it from you or at least with you nearby to talk to."

"And that's why you haven't contacted Chuck at all in the past few years?" Orion said.

Neal glared at him with unblinking eyes. His mouth was twisted into a disapproving frown and it felt like the temperature in the van went down a couple of degrees.

"Don't glare at me," Orion responded, turning back to his computer. The hairs on the back of his neck rose but he forced himself to ignore it. "I know they're not the same situation."

In a blink, Neal was back to amused conman. "Okay, so what's the plan now?"


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

No one had a plan. The agents offered Neal to a gun but he refused. He instead pulled out his escrima sticks and, when Peter's and Chuck's backs were turned, he disappeared. They would be worried but it was better than the alternative. He could do this alone.

 _"You're being really stupid,"_ Orion informed him over the comm.  _"And the agents are kicking up a fuss that you're gone."_

"Wouldn't you have done the same in my position?" Neal asked. "I can finish this alone easier than in a group."

Most warehouses had fire escape stairs. Neal had found the ones for this building, hidden behind some large wooden crates. It was old and rusted, probably not safe.

_"Burke wants to know if you're okay. And if you are, then he plans to put you prison again."_

"Peter always says that." Neal grunted as he climbed atop one of the wooden boxes. They would be suitable for getting him up the building. "Here we go." He tossed a small window breaker at the window, followed by a flash-bang. He then jumped and slipped through the hole in the shattered glass and dropped into a roll the moment he hit the ground.

The area was exactly as it was earlier, a luxury apartment. Neal had dropped in the dinning/kitchen area. Three men of the private army charged at him. Neal leapt onto the counter and took one out with a kick, flipped over the grabby hands of another and knocked him and his friend to the ground by dropping low and kicking their feet out from under them with a sweeping kick.

He proceeded to quickly knock them out.

Neal crept out into the living area and then looked down the hallway. Three more men where standing guard. Neal really hoped this guy wasn't starting a thing with the number 'three'.

He crept back into the kitchen and banged a couple of drawers. It was enough to attract one of the men. He jumped out from hiding behind the bench and flipped over it. Before they could register him, he grabbed them in a choke hold.

"Care to tell me where your boss is?" he asked.

The man grunted something about not telling some lone fool and Neal was forced to knock him unconscious with the chloroform from his belt.

He tried the same thing with the next two. Not a single one was willing spill.

"What's the dental like for loyalty like that?" he commented to himself as he crept down the now empty hall.

"I don't know. What kind of dental do you get?" Peter's voice grumbled over his comm, causing Neal to pause for a moment.

He smiled because hearing Peter's voice often made him smile. Even though his voice was an angry growl, it was a worried-angry and not an angry-angry.

"Alright. Technically I'm a ward of the state and they take okay care of my health."

"Where are you?" Peter asked.

Neal smiled to himself because he wasn't going to give his position away that easily.

"With any luck, right outside the room Brandon's hauled up in."

Peter sighed in frustration at the non-answer and Neal kicked the door in. He had three seconds to come up with a plan.

One... there were four men in the room... two... Brandon was the one in the middle and he had a gun pointed right at Neal... three... the smoke bomb Neal dropped hit the ground and spewed cloudy gas everywhere.

The classics were classics because they worked. Neal ducked out of the way as guns fired. Worryingly, something else exploded and the floor rumbled. Neal took out one of the men but the other wasn't where he had expected him to be.

The gas cleared. Brandon was on the ground with a frustrated kid in a cape sitting on his chest and two angry women pointing guns at him. They were probably the source of the unknown explosion. And the hole everyone crawled out of was where it had occurred.

"Really, is this the best you could do?" Robin huffed. Neal shook his head fondly. There was no way Brandon was getting out of this. Footfalls sounded outside.

"Freeze, FBI!" Jones sounded as he came around the doorway and into the room.

"-tt- You're late," Robin scolded.

"Hi, we're federal agents," Frost greeted them, coldly but also lightly.

"Who blew a hole in the floor?" Diana asked.

"I did," Robin said.

"It was effective," Sarah said. "He knew that there was a room up here because there were people and one was giving off a familiar signal."

"In other words; I had to get in here to save Gr- Caffrey's stupid butt."

"Hey, I have it on good authority that my butt is excellent." He received a couple of strange looks for that comment. While fitting for Dick, it was an odd comment for Neal or Bryce to give. Especially Bryce. Bryce had a reputation for getting the job done seriously, mostly because he was trying to get the job done quick so he could get back home to his family.

* * *

Neal was seated in the back of Peter's car with his arms crossed and a frown on his face. Chuck had been given his seat in the front since, in Peter's words, 'Chuck doesn't run off on his own to try and take down dangerous criminals'. Neal refrained from mentioning that Chuck did indeed run off to take down dangerous criminals, on his own. Just that Chuck hadn't done it this time.

"So, Robin. He's your little brother?"

"Yeah. I had to look after him for a time too," Neal responded.

"You were his guardian?" Peter questioned in surprise.

Chuck had a different trail of thought. "Did he know about the spying?"

"I called them 'business conferences'," Neal said. "And I left him with Alfred when I went. He didn't find out until later."

"Who's Alfred?" Chuck asked.

"The butler."

"You have a butler?"

'Of course there's a butler,' Peter muttered to himself.

"Alfred is awesome and he knows everything. I didn't even have to tell him about the spying, he just knew."

"That's... a bit like my dad."

"Yeah, I think they traded recipes when Orion was hanging out in the cave."

"Cave?"

"Recipes?" Peter questioned. "Like cookies and things?"

"More like... tinfoil hats and hacking tips," Neal said. "And the 'Bat Cave'. It's where Orion's been hauled up at times because he's under our protection."

"I keep forgetting about the Nightwing thing," Peter admitted.

"I should tell you about the Batman thing," Neal mused with a wicked grin.

"What Batman thing?"

"THE ROAD!" Neal and Chuck said in unison. The lights had changed the moment Peter had looked away. Peter slammed on the breaks, thankfully not hitting the car in front.

"What Batman thing?" Peter repeated.

Neal glared at him, trying to calm his quickly beating heart. Somehow, this was worse in the back seat.

"I was Batman for a while," Neal responded. "Like a year or so while. That's how I ended up looking after Robin."

"You? You were Batman?" Peter questioned. "The vigilante of Gotham? The guy who supposedly knows whenever a crime is whispered about and drinks the blood of criminals?"

What? Where had that last one come from?

"Is that what people are saying?"

"They also say that Batman's immortal," Chuck mused, "but I guess if multiple people have been under the mask, that might lead to rumours that he's immortal."

"Not really multiple people but Batman is a sturdy guy," Neal said. "And has been fighting crime for decades."

Peter hummed, not wanting to comment. Chuck grinned.

"That's really cool. I remember he was just a rumour when we were in college. Then the Justice League appeared and he became this interesting figure in the shadows. Hey, are he and Superman really friends?"

"Superman would say so. Batman's motto is to admit nothing and deny everything."

"Ah, so that's where you get it from," Peter teased. "And I thought that was a Mozzie thing." He turned off the road and into the car park.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

Beckman was waiting on the screen when they walked into the meeting room. Hughes took one look at Peter, Chuck and Neal and frowned. He could see from their body language that what the General had told him was true.

Jones and Diana were sitting on one side of the table. Surprisingly, Robin and Orion were next to them.

Chuck's team plus Frost were sitting on the other side.

"Where's Gertrude?" Chuck questioned.

"She realised that Robin was related to the guys who ruined her job," Sarah explained. "And Robin told her where to find them."

Neal glared at his littlest brother. He had better not have.

"What? She asked," Robin shrugged. "I'm sure Red Robin can handle it."

"And where did you send her?" Neal asked calmly. He could ground his little brother later, once he had all the information.

"His hotel room."

Neal pulled out his phone and texted his brother, letting him know that Gertrude was on her way to his place. Then he texted Robin, letting him know silently that he was grounded until further notice. Nightwing and Robin would not be hitting the town together since Nightwing would be needed to help Red Robin clean up this mess.

Everyone stared at Robin as his phone dinged and his mouth dropped open.

"You can't do that!" he demanded, thankfully at the phone, jumping up so that he was standing on the chair.

"Sit down or get out," Hughes ordered. Robin glared at him. "I'm serious. We haven't yet but we can arrest you for vigilantism."

"It wouldn't stick. I'm a kid," Robin said, but he sat down.

Hughes turned to Neal, Chuck and Peter. The first two tensed, wondering what if he would scold them next.

"So Neal Caffrey is an agent," Hughes commented mildly. "I'm concerned about what this means for his future with us."

"Ouch," Neal said. "Are you really looking to get rid of me?"

Hughes was not amused. "You have dropped at lot of paperwork into my lap, Caffrey."

Neal didn't respond to that. There would have been a lot of paperwork anyway – interagency cooperation missions always contained a lot of paperwork.

"Get used to it. I'm still doing paperwork after Larkin messed up and got himself four more years on an anklet," Beckman grumbled from the screen.

"Um, what's going on here?" Jones asked. Diana looked just as confused. "Neal's an agent?"

"CIA," Neal said with a shrug. "I do missions for them whenever I have time."

"The worst part of that is that it's true," Orion commented. He nodded up at Beckman, probably the only time he would look up at the vertically challenged general. "He's one of the few casually employed agents you have."

"Orion," Beckman stated. There was a slight tone of surprise. Unspoken was her query 'you're alive?' which was shared by most of the people in the room who knew about Orion. "I don't remember giving you clearance to know anything about our current operations."

"Orion?" Apparently Diana and Jones hadn't been introduced to the other agents. "The superhacker? He's real?" Diana asked excitedly.

"The Piranha is real too," Neal added. Rather helpfully, he thought.

"The one who hacked the pentagon?" Hughes said with a concerned tone. Chuck shifted nervously at Neal's side. They were leaning against the wall instead of taking a chair, Peter having pulled a chair back to sit on Neal's other side. "The FBI had no luck finding him."

"Neither did the CIA or NSA," Beckman admitted.

"What? The Piranha is real?" Casey questioned, having taken a seat next to Diana. His tone was incredulous, mostly because he knew that Chuck took the name for one of their missions.

"He hacked the Pentagon?" Sarah added, glaring at Chuck, who looked away and whistled not-so-innocently. "Why?"

"Maybe he was just bored," Neal chuckled.

"Why would someone hack the pentagon because they're bored?" Peter questioned. A moment later he sighed and said, "nevermind. You probably would if you had the skill."

"Probably a bad time to admit that I do have the skill. But no, Peter, I'm not the Piranha."

"Can we stop talking about the Piranha, please?" Chuck burst out with, face going red. Neal laughed.

"I agree. Unless Agent Larkin is willing to explain what he knows about the Piranha, we have more pressing issues. Like Orion's return."

"I've always been around," Orion said. "Just off the grid."

"This is not 'off the grid'," Robin grumbled. "You just wanted to see your woman again."

"Really?" Frost hummed at Orion in a pleased tone, staring at him from across the table.

Orion gave a shy smile in return. "It was one reason, yes. I really hoped to be able to see you again. It would also be nice to meet my granddaughter."

"That's if our daughter doesn't ban you from all contact after the 'death' stunt you pulled," Frost countered with a grin. "I... may be able to put a good word in for you."

* * *

"Someone explain why Robin, a known vigilante is here," Beckman ordered.

"-tt- I don't answer to you," Robin countered.

"Robin. Just say why you're here," Neal said. Robin glared at him but he did as requested.

"I am still charged with the protection of one Stephen Bartowski. I consider it a failure on my part that he disappeared from my sight for even a moment. Even if he was with you." Robin turned to Chuck. "And you are Charles. Our fathers are friends so I guess I should get used to you hanging around like all the rest."

"'All the rest'?" Chuck questioned with a raised eyebrow. He looked to Neal for answers since Neal seemed to know the kid.

Robin actually took it upon himself to answer that one. "Father seems to attract strays."

"Robin is here because he is Orion's protection," Sarah summed up for Beckman.

Neal decided a little distraction away from Robin was probably necessary. "You know, I'm a little insulted that Orion's attracted more attention than I have. How is it that no one is surprised that I'm a spy? Or that I'm alive?"

"You've come back from the dead before," Casey grumbled. "I'm starting to doubt that you'll stay dead even if I shot you right here and now."

"You try and I'll have your head."

"Robin!" Neal barked. The little vigilante dropped back into his seat and pulled out his phone with a pout. He tapped away on whatever site he was looking at, grumbling under his breath about how the spies could throw death threats around but he couldn't and it wasn't fair.

"The spy thing actually makes sense. And since everyone in this room seems to be confirming it," Jones shrugged. "I guess it's believable."

"It is you after all," Diana said. "You've performed corporate espionage for us and you go undercover easier than most agents. It makes sense."

Neal sighed. At least they didn't consider it a possibility until someone mentioned it. Although it might just be because none of the agents were conspiracy theorists like Mozzie.

Peter looked at Hughes. "I don't think this debrief will work."

"As a debrief, no," Hughes conceded. "But, for information gathering and making sure everyone knows what to do next, it works." He stepped forward and stood straight as he instructed, "everyone is to complete a report and have it on my table by lunch tomorrow."

"That's everyone," Beckman backed him up. "Reece will forward the reports to myself for our records."

Robin raised his hand in a smug manner. "Does that include me?" he questioned, making himself annoying in a way which reminded Neal of Jason. He was going to have to talk to his brothers about setting good examples for each other. It was something Dick had learnt the hard way, with regrets.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

Neal walked into his apartment and hung his keys on the little key hook to the side.

"Welcome back," Tim said from the table as he munched on toast and typed a message on his laptop. Neal stared and watched as he inhaled the toast into his mouth without the use of his hands and then washed it down with coffee.

He shook his head. "Okay, you need a proper meal."

"Great. Where's Alfred?"

Neal was only a little insulted. He didn't cook often because he was easily distracted so things would burn but he could cook. He started pulling out ingredients; vegetables, couple of eggs, bacon and rice. Tim watched with interest as he started cutting everything up. His knife skills were perfect, an advantage of throwing them since he was hold enough to hold one.

Robin appeared while the rice was cooking. He frowned at Tim and, while not surprised, he was disappointed that Red Robin had managed to avoid the wrath of Gertrude.

"Have you finished your report for Agent Hughes?" Neal asked. Robin pulled off his mask and pouted.

"No."

"Well then, get started. I'm sure Tim can email it in without it getting traced."

Damian didn't move for a few moments. Then he went off to change and started the report for Batman instead. It was still a report so Neal didn't mind too much.

"What did you do?" Tim whispered to Damian.

"He's the one who told Gertrude where to find you," Neal responded. "Which not only put you at risk but also put my cover at risk."

"I don't see why it matters. You already told two of the agents, whatever their names are."

"Peter and Chuck," Neal informed him. Of course, Damian already knew that, he was just refusing to use their names. "Chuck and I went to college together."

"You're kidding," Tim said. His laptop beeped as Oracle's symbol appeared and then opened into a window where Barbara was visible.

"Actually, Bryce Larkin did finish college at Stanford. It's the only completed degree Dick has, since he dropped out of business."

"What can I say? Computers are more interesting."

"-tt- Being a spy was obviously more interesting."

"So they do CIA recruitment at Standford?" Tim mused.

"You're not joining the CIA," Neal said to Tim. "Either of you. If they ask, refuse. Or, better yet, call me. I'll get them off your back."

Neither Tim nor Damian mentioned that Neal hadn't even been able to keep them off his own back. However, they both knew he would help anyone who needed it because he was a bleeding heart. It was probably how the CIA recruited him.

"I'll be sure to bring up their treatment of you," Damian said thoughtfully.

Tim smirked at him. "I'll do one better. I'll send them Jason's way."

The three brothers paused for a moment as they considered Jason's reaction. Jason didn't have the highest opinion of the CIA; not after lugging Neal's behind out of one of their secret facilities. Also Neal was certain that he was the main instigator of the 'complete missions before CIA can' plan which took place during the time Bryce had been 'dead'.

"Do that," he said. "Or send them my way." He'd teach them to stay away from his family. Chuck would probably gladly help him.

"So, why did you contact us?" Neal asked Barbara as he drained the rice. It was done cooking so now he could fry everything together.

"Checking in. Where's Orion?"

Damian stiffened in his spot. Tim narrowed his eyes at his little brother. Neal started heating up a pan, humming away and breaking the tension.

"He should be in our hotel room. He's not going anywhere," Damian said confidently.

"Why aren't you there?"

"Because, Drake, the man doesn't need me watching his every move."

"He kind of does," Neal said. "He can go to ground quickly. Although he doesn't have a reason to."

"You should check on him," Tim insisted.

"I'll do it," Barbara said. There was the sound of typing from the other side of the screen. And then a squeak and frantic typing. "OH! Why didn't anyone mention the woman?"

"Frost?" Neal couldn't help grinning to himself. Good for Orion. Neal knew the had wanted to see his wife and family again. While he had seen Chuck and Ellie before his 'death' he hadn't had a chance to see Frost. Chuck had managed to help her finish her deep cover mission after Orion's 'death'.

"So I'm guessing he's having some special time with his wife?" Tim said. Damian looked confused for a moment before making a disgusted face, like any pre-teen when conversations of girls and romance happen.

"Drake, you are disgusting."

"Do I hear sizzling?" Barbara asked.

Neal hummed a yes as he mixed all his ingredients together. He took pride in how Tim was practically drooling.

"Grayson insists on cooking," Damian said.

There was silence from the other end. "I don't know if you're lucky or not."

"Nothing's on fire yet," Tim informed her. "So I think we're lucky."

"Of course you are!" Neal said. "My cooking has improved as Bryce and Neal." Because it was required that he be able to do everything, including cook. Some covers involved catering, cooking or serving.

* * *

Once the fried rice was done, Neal placed plates of it before his brothers. They eyed it with suspicion and it didn't escape Neal's notice that Damian let Tim go first. If Tim showed any adverse effects from eating the food, Damian wouldn't touch it and he would save himself a lot of pain.

"It's good," Tim said with wonder before eating a couple more bites.

Damian dug into his and Neal wasn't surprised when it was finished off in minutes.

"Hmm, so you can cook." Barbara sounded very interested in this skill.

"Only on special occasions," Neal responded. "So, is there a reason you called?"

"Damian mentioned you know the Piranha." Neal confirmed that and Barbara frowned at the camera. "Someone matching his signature tried to hack my computer. If I'm being honest, I think he's still trying to get in."

"How?"

"He's the interesting thing. He's targeted both me as Oracle and me as Barbara Gordon. Did you tell your friends about me?"

Neal shook his head. "But I'll check with the Piranha. It's best to know whether it's him or whether you have someone else to worry about."

"It's most likely him. It matches the way he hacked a Buy More a while back."

"He hacked a what?" Tim said through a mouthful of rice. "Who hacks a Buy More?"

"What's a 'Buy More'?" Damian questioned.

Tim swallowed and explained that it was discount electronic retail store with in-house tech support. They had a reputation for cheap prices but also cheap service.

"You two should remember that the Burbank Buy More can work magic if you know how to light a fire under them," Neal pointed out.

"How do you do that?" Tim asked.

Neal shrugged. "I don't know. Last time I went inside one, the fire alarm was pulled and there was a human stampede. And there was an assassin or two."

"Do you ever wonder how you ended up in the position where 'an assassin or two' doesn't compare to a human stampede?" Tim said.

Neal laughed while Damian muttered something insulting that no one paid any attention to.

* * *

The hotel room number was easy enough to get. Nightwing slipped through the service elevators, dressed as a staff member before changing on the floor he needed. Then he hacked the electronic lock on the door to pop it open.

Any member of his family would probably kill him for this. Barbara had probably expected him to call Chuck or something. However, a little theatre never hurt. Nightwing slipped into the hotel room. He tossed a coin onto the bed, hitting Chuck with it and waking him up, as he slipped out onto the balcony.

Sarah stirred, "Chuck?"

"I'm just going to get some fresh air," Chuck said.

"Did you have a nightmare?"

"Nah. Just can't sleep. Too much excitement for one day," Chuck chuckled. "I'm going to go stare at the stars until I feel sleepy. Be back soon."

Sarah muttered an okay before drifting back off to sleep. Chuck walked out onto the balcony, mouth dropping as he looked Nightwing up and down. Bold blue across his chest and the familiar mask over his face made him look different to the guy he knew.

"How did you do that?" he asked in a hushed but excited tone. "She had no idea you were here!"

Nightwing smirked. His costume was built for stealth but the easiest explanation was the one he gave.

"I was trained by Batman remember?"

Chuck had a moment of realisation and still gave him an excited grin filled with barely contained energy. It was one thing to know but another to see it in person.

"Batman, who tends to know everything... like when his best information broker has to fight off a hacker."

Chuck's eyes went wide. Caught. "Come on, Nightwing. I find out Dad spent most of his time hiding with Batman, of course I'm going to try and get some information. My mistake was thinking that Oracle's systems would be easier to hit."

"You hit her civilian ID too, Chuck," Nightwing reminded him with his arms crossed over his chest. "How did you even figure that out?"

"Oh boy," Chuck sighed and nervously rubbed his face. "Um… see, I looked at people who you surround yourself with in Gotham. She was the best choice so I tried hitting her computers to find that, yeah, I was right."

"Great," Nightwing said in a deadpan. "Batman is gonna kill us both."


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Nightwing slipped back into his room early into the morning. He dropped into bed and started sleeping, knowing that the proximity alarms would go off before anyone arrived.

He failed to account for the one person outside of the Bat Clan who would not only realise the alarms were there but would also be able to circumvent them. Orion slipped into the apartment and it was only when the door opened that Nightwing woke up. One masked eye watched the man as he made his way into the apartment.

"Orion?" Nightwing said, partly into the bed.

"I heard you paid a visit to my son," Orion said, making himself at home on the couch.

With a groan, Nightwing knew it was time to get up. There was no way he was making it through this conversation in a way which would allow him to go back to sleep. He yawned and stumbled across the apartment to put the coffee on.

"Of course I did. Would you rather Robin or Red Robin go?" he commented. "Chuck was hacking the Clocktower, you know. Batman's one thing but Oracle? We can't ignore that."

Orion nodded his understanding and requested a tea.

"I know I've made this kind of request before and you completely ignored it but, I do not want Chuck involved with superheroes and supervillains. Understand?"

Nightwing rolled his eyes behind his mask. "I did not completely ignore your request. I got Chuck kicked out of Stanford for it, remember? It cost me our friendship so, don't you dare suggest I ignored it." He cracked open a water bottle Tim had left in the fridge the night before and downed it in a couple of gulps. Then he finished making his coffee.

"What were you doing last night?" Orion asked. "After all, you can't have spent the whole night talking with Chuck."

"While we used to spend whole nights doing nothing but talking but, no, I didn't. I went out to punch some muggers and not nice people as well as work off some steam."

"Did you read the kid's report?"

"I edited Robin's report," Nightwing sighed. He placed a tea in front of Orion. "It was full of insults for the agents among other things. I sent the unedited version to Bruce. He can deal with his kid being unable to write a proper report, free of assumptions and personal feelings."

"Didn't you first train him?"

"He's got some social skills, doesn't he?" Nightwing responded rhetorically. Actually, Damian had been able to write a proper report during their time as Batman and Robin so this was either an attention grabbing strategy or a sign of something else. "Do you know what's happening with Gertrude Verbanski?"

"She returned to Casey's room in a frustrated state. Where is her gun?"

"I'll mail it back to her. After removing the firing pin or something." Nightwing took a sip of his coffee and then almost coughed it back up as he looked over at the door.

Mozzie was standing there, completely frozen with a shocked expression on his face. It was then that Nightwing looked down to fully realise that he was still in costume with bright blue bird spread across his chest.

"Hello," Orion said politely when he looked to see what had caused Nightwing to blue screen. "Are you interested in hearing about how Ted Roark stole my ideas to create faster processors?"

Mozzie frowned sceptically and asked, "did you also come up with the miniature camera which could fit into any device?"

"Not one of my finer moments, considering where it led but, yes," Orion answered.

"I knew it!" Mozzie bellowed, pointing at Nightwing.

"Knew what?" Nightwing questioned.

"I knew Ted Roark was a thieving cat! We should have hit him for everything he was worth."

Orion grinned at Nightwing before standing up and shaking Mozzie's hand.

"Stephen Bartowski," he introduced himself.

"You can call me Mozzie." Mozzie shook Orion's hand vigorously. "You're the guy behind the 'alt-theory dot com' website. I love your theories."

"You read my stuff?" Orion sounded very impressed.

"What stuff?" Nightwing questioned.

Mozzie frowned at Nightwing. "Come on, Neal. I told you about it months ago! Remember when I told you about human experimentation done by our government in order to make a super soldier?" Nightwing nodded. "Stephen here posted that theory online, complete with copies of the papers which would make it possible."

"Let me guess, it had something to do with downloading computers into people's brains."

"You have read it!" Mozzie said, pointing an accusing finger at Nightwing.

"Actually, Neal experienced it as Bryce," Orion said. "It's surprising that the CIA let him considering his connection to Batman."

Mozzie looked confused.

"I report to Batman," Nightwing explained.

"Essentially spying on the spies," Orion said. "It's how I managed to fake my death a couple of years back. I had help from Batman and his kids."

Nightwing shook his head fondly. Most of them were adults in their own right now; not 'kids'.

"You don't have to sell me on Nightwing," Mozzie said. Come to think of it, he had been quite calm during all this. He wasn't angry at Nightwing or worried. He turned to Nightwing. "You did save my life once."

"What?"

"It's actually one of the reasons I had Nightwing as my top contender for your hero ID. I knew you had the right body time since I saw you up close when you took out a couple of big guys who followed me into an alleyway once. They had been tracking me for ages but I hadn't been able to shake them. There was a manhole-covered escape of mine down that alley but I didn't need it because you dropped down and knocked them out."

"I have no memory of this." Which was strange. It was the kind of thing Nightwing would have liked to remember.

"Probably because it was during my," Mozzie rubbed his balding head. "More fashionable days."

It clicked pretty quickly. The days where Mozzie wore toupees. Some which were the exact opposite of 'fashionable'.

"Truly, you were a master of disguise," Nightwing commented, spraying and peeling off his mask. He had work to get to.

* * *

Not even work was free of the Bartowski influence. The moment Neal walked into the office, he found Frost sitting in his chair.

"Where is my husband?" she asked calmly. Neal imagined there was probably a gun somewhere on her person.

"I have no idea," he responded with a shrug. "Have you tried asking Chuck?"

"Chuck has no idea." Frost fiddled with a letter opener in her hands. "He's up in the meeting room with the agent who holds your leash."

"Okay."

"I know you know my son and that my husband was a contact of yours years back," Frost commented. "If I find you had anything to do with his inability to contact us when everything was safe-"

"Things are never safe," Neal mused. "And I think that's for him to judge. Besides, if you want to know what he was up to: ask my adoptive father."

Frost paused, eyes darting up quickly as she tried to recall any adoptive father associated with Bryce and Neal. He could tell that she couldn't recall anything.

So she didn't know about Nightwing and Batman. Neal figured it was up to Orion to tell her. He did send the conspiracy nut a text through Mozzie to let Frost know what was happening.

Chuck greeted him happily when he entered.

"Although I thought you might be later," he commented. When Neal was confused at that, he added, "since you didn't sleep a lot last night."

Neal snorted. "I've done more with less. Orion and Mozzie have met by the way."

"How bad was it?" Peter asked.

"I swear, it's like they're the best of friends."

Peter and Chuck shared a worried look. Neal would be more worried, except there wasn't much they could do without Robin knowing. The kid was back at his apartment, actually watching over Orion this time.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  So, we've checked in with Mozzie and Neal's being sort-of stalked by Bartowskis (they're everywhere) and Robin's still kind of being punished/grounded. I'm wondering if I can finish this at chapter 20. What do you think? Anything you want to see?


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

* * *

Things started to settle down. Nothing of note seemed to happen and Chuck's team started making preparations to head back to Burbank.

Chuck returned to the White Collar office for the final debriefing.

"What happens in these things?" he asked Neal.

Neal sipped at his coffee and smirked at Chuck. "Hughes is going to go over the case one more time, address any issues in the reports and let us know what charges have been laid. Sometimes he goes over what they're seeking as consequence, but sometimes I think it's just because I'm in the room and he's trying to steer me away from a life of crime with a reminder of consequences."

Chuck laughed. "I don't think that'll work on you."

"Hey!"

"Well, you don't really think about the effect a course of action will have on you when you decide to do something. You only think about how it'll affect others."

"That fits Neal to a T," Peter commented, walking out of his office the moment they reached the top of the stairs.

"No, it doesn't," Neal muttered under his breath, however he knew he was outvoted.

Walking into the meeting room, it was obvious that there were people who had either not been invited or hadn't bothered to come. The only people present were Peter's team and Chuck's main team of Sarah and Casey.

Casey's only form of conversation was grunts and glares. According to Chuck, he was in a bad mood because Gertrude wasn't coming back to Burbank with them. She was still hunting down Nightwing.

* * *

It was only a couple of minutes into Hughes talking about how the CIA was taking over Newman's confinement and punishment that a tune rang out through the speakers.

The screen lit up as Batman's face appeared, complete with the familiar jingle  _someone_  online created years before. Jones had hummed it once.

Neal's mouth dropped open while Chuck started laughing. Hughes was frustrated and horrified, Peter was just suspicious of Neal and the rest of the agents were somewhere between horrified and amused.

"Charles. I would appreciate it if you kept your skills away from my presence and computers," Batman said.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Chuck said, a picture of innocence.

"I'm not just talking about hacking the Batcave-" Batman realised probably shouldn't have mentioned that as many of the agents were just looking amused now. "-but also that infernal tune."

"To be honest, I only hooked it to this monitor because I didn't think you'd ever remote in," Chuck said with an apologetic grin.

Batman was not amused. He knew Bartowskis could be shrewd and very good at making things go their way, especially Chuck.

"You have to admit, it is next to impossible that you'd ever call like this, Batman," Neal said politely. He would probably pay for it in paperwork and stakeouts for the foreseeable future; on all sides, but it was worth it.

Batman narrowed his eyes but didn't comment. Instead he turned to Hughes, the only sane one in the room, and reported that Robin would be returning to Gotham and that no one was to chase them up on their involvement in this case.

"What if Newman escapes or something, wouldn't you like to know?" Chuck said.

"I'll know." With that said, the screen went dark.

Neal heard at least one agent wonder why he had called in when there didn't seem to be any reason to. He wondered if Bruce had been checking up on him or if he was showing Chuck what the Batman could do.

* * *

If Batman calling the FBI office wasn't enough, Neal found himself floored when Jason walked into the office with a frown on his face. He was dressed nicely and didn't seem out of place but it was Jason. Jason didn't just visit.

"Why are you here?" Neal found himself asking.

"I'm looking for Bartowski," Jason growled softly to Neal.

"Chuck? Why?"

Diana came up to ask what was going on. Jason either instantly assessed her character or had been reading Neal's reports to Bruce on his coworkers because he kept his response short and to the point. Although, it could just be that Jason was never expected to flirt with people so it wasn't as ingrained into his personality as it was Neal's. So he was able to get Diana on his side and she showed him up to the conference room, where Chuck was.

"Oi, you!" Jason immediately spat out as soon as he thrust the door open. He pointed at Chuck as he said, "call off your hounds!"

"Hounds?" Chuck questioned curiously. Neal was confused as well.

Sarah was instantly on guard as Jason was borderline threatening Chuck.

"Yes! Your father, your friend and his little minion!" Jason said, jabbing a finger into Neal's arm at 'his little minion'.

Neal glared at Jason, rubbing his arm. That hurt. "Minion? I don't have a-"

"Of course you do! That little guy with glasses!"

"Mozzie?"

Peter sighed from behind them. "Of course it's Mozzie." They stared at him. "You're yelling loud enough for the whole office to hear, I came to see what's going on."

"Apparently Orion, Morgan and Mozzie are bothering this guy," Chuck explained calmly. "Although I'm not sure why or how."

"They keep turning up wherever I am! And I'm certain one of them has hacked my helm- my computer."

"That doesn't sound too bad," Sarah said. Neal stared at her.

"You do know how frustrating it is, right?"

"Neal's right. Jason probably can't take two steps without that group knowing," Chuck pointed out. "Look, we'll leave tomorrow and take Morgan with us. That should break up part of the group. I'll get Mum to deal with Orion, I think they're planning to retire to a cabin in the woods or something. He'll jump at that." With a look at Neal, Chuck asked, "do you think you can keep Mozzie off Jason's back?"

"I don't know. I was thinking of getting him trained under Oracle to help support me here," Neal said.

"I shouldn't be hearing this," Peter commented. It wasn't good for his plausible deniability.

* * *

Jason was right about one thing, Mozzie's team was good. With their help, Neal had Gertrude's location pinned down in less than an hour. She was at a local bar, thankfully within his radius. Neal pulled on a black turtle-neck, sunglasses and beanie and made his way there.

"Heard you were looking for someone," he said, slipping into the seat next to her at the bar. She glared at him and he smiled back. "You're not getting your gun back, you know."

"Nightwing," she hissed.

He hummed. "Call me Bryce. I'd rather not have everyone scrambling to figure out my identity." He had no problems with anyone who linked Bryce to Nightwing. Bryce Larkin's information would either lead people to dead ends or alert the CIA. His files had been destroyed so linking Bryce to Dick Grayson wasn't a simple task either. It would be easier to draw him out with a crime than hunt him down.

"Bryce?" she questioned.

"As in Bryce Larkin," he responded with a grin.

He could practically see the distrust and disgust as she linked it all together. "CIA, huh? You know I could make your life very difficult."

"But Chuck wouldn't like that," Bryce said. "And you know he's doing to make things difficult for your bedfellow if something like that happened."

"I doubt you'll tell him," she said, downing her drink in one gulp. "You're a solitary agent from what I know."

"Bryce Larkin might be, but the other name you called me is not," Bryce responded. "And we can make your life difficult. Besides, one of Chuck's friends has an eye on my brother and so he'll probably know whenever something happens to me. And anything that makes my life difficult, he'll happily tell Chuck. While he's okay with me being Chuck's friend, he doesn't like me too much so my misfortune gives him some pleasure, you see?"

"I heard you guys prefer to punch people," Gertrude said, obviously referring to Nightwing and his family. "But you're not too bad at the talking side of things."

"I'm not done yet." Bryce pulled out a file and passed it to her. "I'm sure you've heard everything your client was up to since we arrested him. But here's a copy of the information and evidence we had when we busted in. Maybe, you should not only check your clients' backgrounds but also check into who's looking into them and why. Consider your gun a casualty of not doing those checks fully." There. Bryce had probably said that sensitively and not outright insulted her for not checking into whether her client was worth working for. No agency had a perfect vetting system.

Gertrude wasn't happy about it but she took the file and did a cursory flip through.

Bryce didn't get shot so he considered the meeting a success.

* * *

Neal had barely opened the door when the three people inside started hounding him.

"So?" Tim asked. "How did it go?"

"DeMorgan would like to know as well," Mozzie said. He had his Russian surplus laptop computer in front of him, ready to type Neal's response to Morgan. Neal decided not to comment on Morgan's choice of username.

Instead, he focused on the final person in the room. "Orion, what are you up to?"

Orion finished typing and looked up. "Booking a hotel in France for myself and my lady. Want to help me pick a good one?"

"Yes," Neal said gratefully. He was so grateful for an out from Mozzie's question that he didn't question the window open in the corner of the computer screen showing a map with his tracking data on it.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes: I'm going to end it here. As you can probably predict, Chuck's team goes home, everyone stays in contact and Jason sometimes has to chase little 'gnomes' off his tail while Dick just smiles and poses for the camera (because he knows there's always a camera - you just have to let it see only what you want it to see). Dick still has to complete the rest of Neal's sentence and Peter now not only reminds him to not take anything but to also to not sic Nightwing on anyone. Neal sometimes doesn't follow this instruction.


End file.
